KP One Oh One
by Commander Argus
Summary: Newly engaged, Kim and Ron begin their new life as college students as they form new friendships and deal with both old and new enemies.  The continuation of the It Finally Happened arc. [Complete]
1. Part I The More Things Change

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part I – The More Things Change…**

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In the space of just a little more than a month, the world had changed.

Kim Possible, the girl who could do anything, repeated savior of the world and all-around teen hero still woke up in the same bed most mornings, but the world that greeted her was now ferociously different.

There was a brief pang of loneliness when she awoke, but that was quickly chased away by the certainty that the man she was lonely for would be right by to pick her up, if he wasn't already downstairs chatting with her parents. It still seemed funny that he would have to come get her, or as would probably be the case more often, she would go pick him up. Kim guessed she would have to get used to that.

Ron had spent the summer living with them, partly to make things easier on his father while his mother went through a high-risk late-life pregnancy, partly because the two of them seemed to be a magnet for danger. But only a couple days after returning from a two-week vacation with Kim, Jean Stoppable's doctors said 'enough' and performed a c-section. After eighteen years as an only child, Ron Stoppable had a little sister, Catherine Jean. He instantly moved back to his childhood home to help take care of the house as it fell to his father to do most of the care for the little girl until Jean was back on her feet.

There were other things Kim was going to have to get used to.

As she sat up in bed, blinking back sleep, she caught sight of the old-fashioned megaphone sitting on her hope chest. It was given to her by her Nana way back when she first joined the Middleton Junior High cheerleading squad at twelve. She was so proud of herself that day. Everyone told her she would never get past the queen of the squad, Bonnie Rockwaller, that she was too skinny, that she had braces, that she would be the only girl in the tryouts who didn't yet have to wear that utterly embarrassing piece of clothing; the training bra. Yet she knew she could do anything. She even said so on her babysitting website.

Six years later, Kim was waking up for the first day of school, a first day that did not include cheer practice. For some reason she could not entirely place, she had not even considered trying out for the Middleton College squad. Maybe it was because the school wasn't a sports powerhouse and didn't even have a football team. Maybe it was because she felt she had matured beyond wanting to be a cheerleader. She just plain didn't know the full reason for that.

In the past she would have asked one of her friends. Of course, she would ask Ron, but that kind of deep thinking was not his strong suit. Another change she was going to have to deal with was being without her old circle of friends. Monique had gone to Duke. Felix was attending M.I.T. Hope was at UCLA and Tara was at a small Baptist college in Kentucky. The only one left from the old Senior Year circle was Josh Mankey, who moved back into town a year earlier when he transferred to Upperton University. Only, Kim wasn't about to talk to Josh about stuff like that. He may have been head-over-heels about Tara, but they had enough history to make things awk-weird.

Kim was just going to have to make new friends. That prospect was both exciting and sad at the same time. Exciting, with the expectation of meeting new people and possibly forming relationships that would last for many years to come. Sad, because, in the normal course of things, it was possible, even probable those relationships would supplant what she had forged in her younger years. The same thing would happen to the others and none of them would really know it had happened until years later when they tried to reconnect.

She made a promise to herself to hand-write a letter to Monique that very afternoon when they returned from school. That friendship she was not going to let slip away.

Swinging her feet out of the bed, Kim twisted her ring around her finger a couple times. It was a habit she formed whenever she was thinking about Ron. They had been together ever since the Junior Prom and they had become as close as they could possibly be in that time, to the point that on the night before they left for a two-week road trip together, he gave her that ring. The diamond was small and the ring itself dainty, but that never mattered one bit to her. It was the question that came along with it that mattered, as well as her answer, and since she was wearing it, that answer had been overwhelmingly positive.

Kim Possible's world really had changed. She was getting ready for her first day of college, not as a girlfriend, but as a fiancé. Just before Ron's sister was born, the two of them had a sit-down with her parents and told them of their plans. At first they were going to keep it secret for a while, but that didn't sit well with either of them. It was very nice to wear the ring openly, though. Still it was very cool and very scary to consider she was now committed to something that would last the rest of her life. Sure, other people grew apart, broke up, got divorced. That so couldn't happen to her. She had gone through too much with Ron, not just the year plus they had officially been together, but in the near lifetime they had been by each other's side. They were so meant to be together that her definition of hottie had changed into what Ron was. Ragged dark blonde hair, big ears, chocolate brown eyes and a splattering of freckles punctuated by three darker spots on each cheek, forming twin triangles on his face. Sure, he was taller, more fully built now, but she had fallen in love with him before that had happened. He was her hottie first, then an even hotter hottie later, as if it was a kind of karmic reward for choosing her rightful Soulmate.

There were other things, thing she considered ferociously weird to consider. People who had long been her enemies now seemed like they could become hesitant friends. She found herself honestly worried about Shego…or Sherry as she was now trying to teach herself to think of the woman as. The slightly older woman was expecting a baby and had just lost the father, leaving only Kim's other great enemy to care for her. It still drove her nuts that the last time she had laid eyes on Doctor Drakken was to extract a promise from him that he would care for the young woman, and to realize the reason he readily agreed was because he was in love with her. That was something Kim had never considered in the years she had known the two, but there it was plain as day. Then the two of them simply vanished.

Moments after she got out of the bed, her radio started blaring. At least her good habits were still in place, though her being up ten minutes before the alarm went off had more to do with nerves than it did her internal body clock. She sometimes teased Ron about his predilection lying in bed all morning unless somebody chased him out of it. In fact, that very thing had led to some strife between them on occasion, but in reality, she had been slipping a bit herself. With nothing but her own sense that they were burning daylight to rouse her from her bed in the mornings, she had been getting up later and later as the summer wore on, especially on those rare, wonderful occasions when she was not alone in her bed.

It was actually more amusing than disappointing that her father was no more happy for Ron to spend the night with her now that they were adults and engaged than when they were minors and dating. He had given them his blessing to take their trip together, but somehow, under this roof, she was still his little girl whose virtue had to be protected.

Well, she had protected her own virtue, thank you very much. That didn't mean she missed holding Ron through the night. She loved him on a very deep, spiritual level, but she still craved physical contact with him. The fact both were there satisfied her soul deeply.

After a quick shower she slipped into the clothes they had picked out together. For this first day, they weren't going to simply rely on her small engagement ring to announce to the world that Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible were as one, and therefore 'off the market.' Anyone who saw them together that day was going to know instantly who went with who. It may have technically been summer, but Ron had a sort of tradition to uphold. For the last four years, he had worn the exact same outfit on the first day of school and it didn't matter that it was a tad warm to be wearing two layers.

Okay, Kim was cheating just a little bit. Instead of a navy blue turtleneck, she slipped the top part of her Mark II mission wear on. It was a black mock turtleneck, but the fabric it was made of would regulate her temperature better than the poly-cotton blend of the other. Over that she slipped one of Ron's remaining red and cream jerseys. He mother had taken it up a little bit, so it didn't hang on her like a tent, though it was long enough on her to wear like a dress. Only a short while ago she had been wearing another of the shirts as a nightgown.

Finally she slipped on a pair of 'artfully ratty' tan cargos. Ron teased her when she bought them at the mall, but she still just couldn't quite bring herself to wear a pair from Smarty Mart like he did. They may have cost almost ten times what they would have at the bargain retailer, but there really was a difference. Maybe it was the quality, maybe it was the cut, maybe it was just knowing she paid sixty dollars for them instead of six, but no matter the why, she was going to be comfortable in her own pants.

"Well, if folks were calling me Mrs. Stoppable before, they sure will be now." She said to herself, checking her look in the mirror. She smiled broadly as her twin appeared at her side.

"I like the sound of that, KP." Ron wrapped his arms around his fiancé's waist from behind and kissed her cheek. Turning in his arms, she gave him a more proper good-morning kiss. "Mrs. Stoppable…sounds a bit like Mom, but it looks good on you. Unless you want to keep your name."

"No way, Ronnie. In a few years I'm going to be Kim Stoppable." She leaned back and gave him a fake hairy eyeball. "As long as you're not going to start calling me KS."

"Nah, you'll always be my KP." He rubbed the small of her back, his fingers kneading slightly. They drifted slightly lower, just enough to imply where he'd like to be kneading, prompting a very happy smile from her.

Kim's eyes narrowed slightly. She put her nose closer to Ron's shirt and took a whiff. Moments later the smile returned. Years of babysitting told her exactly what that smell was.

"Somebody's been on diaper duty." She said finally, heading to her dresser to put on her jewelry and makeup.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, yeah. At least when we get started, you'll be well trained." She laughed, putting her earrings on.

"I can't wait for Mom to get back on her feet, so I can move back over here with you."

Kim frowned just a little bit. "Do you think that's a very good idea? Especially now?"

"What, your father's not going to let me or something?"

She shook her head. "No, Daddy was kind of upset when you moved back out himself, I'm sure he'd be glad to have you, but when you moved over here the first time, it was to help your parents out. Now they need you to help there and if you move out again, it's going to be because you want to be with me."

"I'm not sure I'm following you, Kim. Of course I want to be with you."

She smiled softly as she turned around. "Here, help me with this." She held the thing gold chain at arm's length. Ron may have had big hands, but he had a very deft, gentle touch with it came to her. Moments later she turned back to the mirror to put on some eyeliner and her lipstick. The final result was a very feminine version of Ron's usual look.

"Ron, I think your moving out over summer kind of hurt your mother. I'm sure she understood the logical reason for you doing it, but think what you mean to them. Even your Dad. He won't come out and say it, but he's got just as many letting go issues as my Dad." She got up and wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him close. "Give 'em a couple years, at least until Catherine is walking and talking, then maybe it'll be time for both of us to find a place of our own."

"Now that is something I'm looking forward to, though you know we're probably doomed to babysitting CJ every time we plan a date together."

"CJ? Your sister's a week old and you're already giving her a nickname?"

Ron shrugged. "Well, Dad's already calling her Cathy and Mom wants to call her Jean, so she's going to be confused as it is."

"CJ's kind of cute." Kim walked her fingers up the middle of Ron's chest. "I'm willing to bet you're going to call our son EJ, aren't you."

His eyes got wide. "Whoa, getting ahead of things, aren't you?"

She pouted slightly. "Why, you don't want kids?"

"Of course I do…it's just, I wanted it to be just you and me for a while once we get married."

That sounded familiar to her, being precisely her own feelings on the matter. One day they were going to really have to sit down and hammer out exactly what their feelings were on the matter, but for the moment, that would wait. It was comforting, though, that he was of a like mind with her.

Kim grabbed her backpack from the chair at her computer desk. For the moment it was empty save for the mission gear she always kept close at hand (especially after a couple instances when she was caught with nothing!) Soon enough, as in after a trip to the campus book store, it was going to be filled, and this time there wouldn't be a locker to put the stuff in. That also meant there wouldn't be a computer hook up handy to talk to Wade on, unless they relied on the terminal he installed in her car. The old computer at the high school had been moved into Jim and Tim's locker. She wondered how Mister Barkin and Principal Director were going to deal with yet another set of mission-ready Possibles.

"Ready, Baby?"

"Guess so, KP. Just, you know, when we walk out that door, summer's officially over."

Kim wrapped her arms around him again. "Can't be helped. I'm so not going to be late on my first day of classes. Besides, it's not like we're constantly in class all day."

"Yeah, 'cept we don't have any together any more and just about all day while you're out, I'll be in one."

She pulled him tighter against him. "Can't be helped, but that'll make this afternoon all that much sweeter when we're done. Tell you what, you can hold hands with me while we're in line at the book store."

"Badical."

"So, Ronnie, we've got a few minutes before we have to go."

"Kim, you just put on your makeup and all." He protested, a bit weakly.

"So, it's just lip gloss and I've got plenty in my backpack."

"Just don't get mixed up with Wade's knockout gas." He whispered, just as their lips met.

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Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	2. Part II Those Who Fail History

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part II – Those Who Fail History…Are Doomed to Repeat It**

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Whenever Ron considered the possibility of attending college as a younger teen, he always had a certain image in his mind of what it would be like. Part of that image was expressed when he accompanied the Possibles to Florida to help Kim's Nana move into the Chez Leisure retirement home. It would be a fresh start, a clean slate if you will. He wouldn't be the big nobody loser he always had been in grade school.

Kim's first class was as eight in the morning, while his wasn't until nine. They already decided they would ride to school together in the morning, so that left him with a little time to kill before his great academic career actually began. It bugged him more than he let on that he not only wouldn't be able to wait for her at the end of her class, but that he actually didn't have any classes whatsoever with her. Their fields of study were diverging and unless there was some elective course they both wanted during some future semester, it was unlikely they would be together like that much ever again.

At first, he held out the hope they could share some classes in their core curriculum. Even though he was majoring in culinary arts, with a minor in business and Kim was studying International Diplomacy, they still had to take the basics. Math, History, Science, English as well as some other topics that didn't seem completely necessary to him were required. Only, Kim had jumped in with both feet with more advanced courses. Since she had taken AP English her senior year in high school, she was already a full term ahead of him in that subject, so that was out. The same thing applied in Science. Math was off the table as well, since she was taking advanced calculus, while he was only qualified for a more mundane trigonometry course.

That left only History. Unfortunately, they couldn't get their schedules to mesh at all due to conflicts with other classes they couldn't move around. Not only that, but while he was qualified for the more advanced course her curriculum required, he really didn't have enough confidence in himself to keep up. He only needed two credits of History and he didn't want to be repeating the courses. Take the normal class, do reasonably well, get it out of the way.

He wandered around campus for a while after staking out the lecture hall. It was nothing like what he was used to at MHS. Instead of relatively small rooms with twenty to thirty desks, the class was being held in what looked a lot more like a medium sized auditorium. The seats were arranged in curved rows with folding mini-desks in place of arm rests. If he timed it right, he would be able to snag a good seat. Not too close to the front, definitely not in the back, just a little off to the side where he would disappear in an ocean of new Freshmen like himself. It wasn't that he didn't want to succeed in the class, he simply didn't want to put himself into a position to be called on all that much until he was comfortable with the new style of learning. He didn't want to be in the back because that would peg him as a slacker, an image he had done a lot of work to put behind him.

One thing was certainly true about a college campus. Especially in the morning, the grounds were full of students, and when it came to the female population, almost all seemed to fall into that loveliest of age brackets, from eighteen to early twenties. That was what he liked so much about being in Fort Summerdell for spring break a few years ago. They were still in that narrow slot when they still looked like teenagers, but they were actually adults!

The only drawback, at the time he was still fifteen and hadn't started growing again. Now it was painfully obvious that he looked like just a little boy, hitting on the big girls. They wouldn't give him the time of day until they realized Rufus was with him. Somehow the little guy had managed to worm his way into the hearts of just about every coed in the beach resort, being named honorary mascot of several sororities.

Now things had changed. Ron was not only taller, but had filled out just enough to go from skinny to simply slender. His face was a little leaner and his ears had flattened out just a tiny bit. Instead of turning their noses up or outright ignoring him, the girls who passed by him would sometimes smile or even wave at him. He knew he was by no means any kind of hottie, but the sudden attention made something inside him tingle.

It also scared the mess out of him.

He started getting a notion that, not only being in a committed relationship, but actually being engaged was putting out an invisible wave that the women around him could somehow detect. Was it a form of confidence he now had, knowing that part of his life was now fulfilled? Or was it a sort of test the man upstairs set up for him. At least that test he knew he would pass. He could enjoy that little bit of friendly attention all day long, but he would never, ever do anything that would betray Kim.

Still, there was this little voice inside his head, some little bit of the old Ron telling him that if he wasn't with her, nothing would have changed. No woman would give him the time of day. He would just be the same old loser he always was.

Who was he kidding. Without Kim, he would have stayed a total slacker. He wouldn't be at Middleton College about to take US History 1101. He very likely wouldn't even be at Lowerton Community College. He'd be across town, lording it over Ned at the Bueno Nacho as the assistant manager. No, not even that. It was Kim who filled out his application and Kim who cajoled him into taking that job in the first place. By the time he was forced to actually get a job, he'd be starting at the bottom, just doing enough to get by. That sort of thing doesn't make one a manager. It was only his subconscious desire to finally surpass her at something that made him literally take the place over. No, if Ned would even look at his application long enough to consider him, he'd be nothing more than another pimple-faced nacho-drone drawing minimum wage and wondering how he was going to pay for his next Naco.

A smiling coed with Bonnie's body, Tara's face and Hope's hair brought him out of his little pity fiesta. The look on her face seemed to say 'you can have my number if you want it' even though she was walking with a guy twice his size. The truth of the matter was that he was with Kim, and had been since he was just four years old. Much as he always swore he had her back, she had his as well. What he had was so much because of her, both her help and the desire she gave him to make himself better than he was.

Slowly, something else dawned on him. There was nothing especially wrong with the way he was dressed, only that, for some reason, he started realizing he still looked like a high school student. It wasn't one particular thing he had on, though maybe wearing his old brown backpack by both straps was a start. Kim had him doing that for years, telling him that holding it over one shoulder would hurt his back. Well, there really wasn't anything in there except for some snacks he would share with Rufus later, while he was killing time alone waiting for his English class to start.

It still struck him as funny how college classes were set up. For all his years in grade school it had been every class, every day. Instead now they were spread out all over the place. Most of the classes met for three hours a week, some for an hour Monday, Wednesday and Friday, others for a hour and a half on Tuesday and Thursday. There was also a lab course he had to take along with his Physics class that met on Tuesday nights. It was really going to be strange taking a class when it was supposed to be dinner time, but that was part of the new world he was living in. For the moment, Kim was willing to wait for him to get out before going to dinner with him later, but he knew eventually it was going to mean he had to get himself a new car.

The night he proposed to Kim his battered old Chevrolet Chevette conked out for good. Granted, he only paid three hundred dollars for the car, but there was enough wrong with it that it wasn't logical to fix it any more. The main thing that killed it that night was the timing chain breaking. That drove him a little nuts, since his mechanic told him since it had a chain and not a belt he didn't have to worry about it. Still, it broke, killing the car as dead as if the engine were gone. Throw in the fact the oil pump was on its last legs, it leaked like a sieve and the clutch he had put in back in February was already wearing out, he was better off walking to Kim's house in the morning and riding in her car. Some kind of vehicle was needed, since the campus was across town from their homes.

His needing to be home to help take care of his new sister aside, he was wondering if moving back in with Kim's family really was a good idea. As quick as he thought about that, he discarded it again, knowing the reality of the matter was Kim still would have to sit around studying or something while he completed his lab assignments, whether she was taking him to his home or hers until he had his own ride. Maybe it was time to start looking at scooters again. Or motorcycles. They both enjoyed the short time he had the old sportster style bike, though it gave Mrs. Dr. P. the willies.

Checking his watch, it was time to get back to the History building. The class wasn't for another twenty minutes, but he had his particular seat to grab. He shuffled his pack onto one shoulder, trying to emulate the style the other students used. That would work until they had their books, unless they worked out some kind of system of getting back to the car between classes, using it as a defacto locker. That would mean some serious hiking, considering commuter students had to park in some pretty far ranging lots.

That was another thing that pegged him as a bit of an outsider at Middleton. It was a traditional campus, meaning the majority of his classmates lived in the dorms. Even his guidance counselor seemed to frown on the prospect of him living at home, at least as a Freshman. Some colleges actually required first year students to live on campus, but this school was large enough that it wasn't feasible. It simply didn't make sense for him to waste a large sum of money on a room half the size of the one he grew up in that he had to, in turn share with some guy who might turn out to be a Brick Flagg type jock or some kind of weirdo. Growing up as an only child, Ron never had to endure sharing a room with anybody and he was not about to start unless that person was a five foot five, one hundred five pound redhead.

Still, commuter students were given the short shrift. Not only did they have to buy a very expensive parking permit, but they were only allowed to park in lots that barely qualified as being on the campus. Even Seniors were forced to park in the outer boondocks. It was like it was some kind of punishment for not partaking of the wonderful student culture that existed in the dorms.

All the more reason for them to find an apartment as soon as they were able, even if that meant one of them taking a part time job somewhere. Still, the thought of coming home and taking off some sort of apron or smock, kicking off his shoes and curling up in a couch with Kim was reason enough for a little hardship. There were plenty of places around the campus, all within walking distance. They talked about that a little bit, though it would be difficult to find a place willing to rent to eighteen year olds without help from their parents.

Ron knew better than to broach that subject with Kim's Dad. So, for the moment, they would live at home and drive across town to class.

Just as he planned, the middle seats were still wide open when he got back into the lecture hall. Moments later it started filling up in earnest. The class was purely for Freshmen, so, like him, they wanted to get in and find a good seat.

Once more he checked his watch. Wade's tinkering had tied it into a local time service, so he never had to fool with setting it. Something horrible tickled the back of his mind as it ticked down to the start of the class. The professor had not yet appeared and he wondered if he was actually going to be late. There was only one teacher he ever knew of who would show up exactly as the bell would ring. He watched as the seconds counted down. He already knew the bells were about forty five seconds behind his time. With ten seconds to go he looked up.

His eyes went wide as the teacher strode into the room, putting his briefcase down on the desk sitting on the raised platform.

_No! It can't be! What have I done to deserve this? _

The bell rang.

"ALRIGHT, PEOPLE. LISTEN UP!"

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Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	3. Part III When Anne met James

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part III - When Anne met James**

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Doctor Anne Possible was finally getting over a school-girl-like giddiness learning her daughter was engaged brought her. She knew she had to get a grip on herself somehow, though she still caught herself humming the Wedding March to herself, though only when she was alone. From her perspective at that moment, nearly four years seemed like a really long time to wait. It would be if she couldn't get her mind back on the present. Still she allowed herself a little indulgence. Soon enough some other crisis would come up, then another, and another until, seemingly overnight, she would be watching her little girl in a black cap and gown and not long after that a flowing white gown.

It was a strange logic wanting something to go awry to take her mind off the wait.

She even went into the attic and pulled out her own wedding dress. Neurosurgeon's skills aside, she didn't have the specific skills needed to do the work needed on it, but she knew enough to know it would be difficult to make it fit Kim properly, if she even wanted to wear her mother's dress. Kim just had bigger hips than she did. Granted, it was mostly muscle, but their generally similar appearance aside, she was just built differently. Anne was taller and slimmer overall. About the only part that would come close to fitting was the bodice, and given the subtle changes the young woman had undergone in the last year, even that might change, though probably not by that much.

Fairly soon the twins would be home from their first day of High School. They were finally allowed to skip a grade, though by some stroke of luck (whether good or bad depended on the perspective) they missed Kim and Ron by just a year. The older kids wouldn't be home until later since they had classes clear up until four. She wondered if they would have time for each other, or if they would be buried in homework. She allowed herself a little knowing smile. They may be spending less time actually in class now, but they were in for a lot more work than they had previously been used to. Hopefully it wouldn't be so bad on the first day. They were probably busy listening to dry dissertations or reading their syllabi. Then they were going to have their bank accounts whacked considerably once they hit the bookstore. Twelve years of having their textbooks handed to them for free had come to a screeching halt. Since Kim didn't have a job and was taking too heavy a class load this first semester, they gave her what they thought she would need for books. That was easy enough to do, since she qualified for a full scholarship. They were actually getting off cheap buying her books and letting her live at home.

She shuddered to think what Ron was actually paying for out of his trust fund. He qualified to get into the school, but he didn't qualify for any kind of scholarship due to his earlier high school performance, and financial aid was out of the question because of his assets. He effectively had to pay his tuition in cash money.

Funny how a young man who was once told by so many around him that he would never amount to anything was going to a prestigious school with his own money simply because of one moment of utter brilliance.

Anne found herself craving a Naco. Better not admit that to James, he would first complain that she never let him eat those fatty things, then he'd wonder exactly why she was having cravings. The latter was _not_ going to be happening. She was a doctor, after all. Leave having a baby this late in life to Ron's mother, though the other woman was more than five years older than her.

Popping upstairs, she changed out of her lab coat and dress into a light blouse and denim shorts and started cleaning the house. It was moments like that she was really missing having Ronald living with them. He was quite handy with housework and sharing the burden with him spoiled her. It wasn't like James and the kids didn't do their share…well, yeah it was. They did a little bit, but the bulk of the work had always fallen to her. Still, she enjoyed doing it and didn't complain, except to cajole her husband out into the yard to do a little work in the sun sometimes.

He had been that way since she knew him. Sure he liked to fish from time to time, but given his druthers, he would sit inside, either reading the paper a the table or in the family room, or up in his study, going over old-fashioned blueprints. He had a computer up there that could link with his office, but he preferred working on his designs the classic way, at least until they had to be digitized in order for other scientists and technicians to use them.

As it usually did, her mind drifted to other places, other times while she gathered the dirty clothes from all over the house. She pictured the Middleton College campus, not as it was a couple weeks ago when they took Kim and Ron over for Freshmen Orientation, but as it looked twenty-four years earlier.

It looked essentially the same then. There were more trees and fewer parking lots, but the bulk of the grounds had not changed very much in forty years. It would take precise measuring tools to tell the difference in the ancient oak that dominated the central quadrangle. The only thing that struck her on that recent trip was the lack of the ubiquitous (and always tied up) payphones scattered around the school.

The school year was still young. The leaves on the huge tree hadn't quite started turning brown, though that time was not far off. A very slender girl with huge blue eyes and bright red hair that hung past her hips was leaning against that tree, reading an advanced biology text. She was into her second year of regular college, in preparation for medical school and so far she was doing quite well.

All save for the fact she was having to deal with a difficult (and quite jealous) boyfriend. He was a senior and captain of the basketball team. It didn't matter the school was unranked, he was the high man on the totem pole, the big kahuna on campus. If it were twenty years later, he'd be called the top of the 'food chain.'

The big problem? Brad Nelson might have been a hottie, he might have been 'golden,' but Anne Credible was just not in love with him. Sure, she liked him, even liked him-liked him, but love? No. That realization had hit her like a speeding deliver truck loaded to capacity. Still, without any other good prospects (considering he pretty much scared them all off) she was content to maintain the status quo. It wasn't so bad having such a pretty man on her arm when it came to be seen in social circles.

Then, that one particular day, she happened to look up from her book as she rested under that venerable tree. She was facing the science building as a quartet of young men, all seniors, spilled out the modern glass doors adorning the otherwise Victorian building. Almost before she could catch herself, that hated word jumped to the forefront of her mind…

…"Nerds."

They weren't complete textbook geeks, at least not all of them, but she had seen them around the science department enough to know what they really were. She didn't even really know their names, just thinking of them as the tall one, the Asian one, the Indian one and the dark creepy one. The latter seemed to be a kind of hanger-on to the group. He had black hair combed up into a huge pompadour and fair, almost pasty skin. When she heard him speak, it was as if every word was a plea for approval from the rest of them.

As they walked by, he was the one speaking, or rather, as usual, pleading. "Come on, Guys, I know I can get us dates for the mixer! Trust me!"

The Asian laughed softly. "Dates? Come on, Drew, even Possible can't find a date. What hope do you have of finding four?"

"I have my sources." He said with an almost evil flair.

They stopped and talked more quietly for a while. Anne just sat there, chewing on her disposable pen. It was a bad habit of hers that she hoped to one day break. Her mother always kidded her about it, but at least it wasn't as bad as her older sister, June's nose picking. Mother told both of them that habits could be passed on unless they broke them before they had kids of their own. Chewing on plastic pens Anne could live with. Nose picking…

She didn't know why, but she actually started looking at the tall one. Given the apparent heritage of the other two, he was the only one who could possibly be 'Possible.' He was indeed tall, just over six feet, with dark brown hair and a rather Romanesque nose with just a tiny bump near the bridge. He was dressed like he was going to be auditioning for Miami Vice, though he lacked that horrible 3-day old looking stubble. He might have been a nerd, but he was a pretty good looking one.

The creepy looking one named Drew headed off somewhere, as did the 'Asian' one and the 'Indian' one, leaving 'Possible' standing there with his hands in his pocket. All by himself, without his 'posse' surrounding him, it was easy to forget he was actually a noted geek. In fact, he was rather good looking. He looked around for a moment and before she could look away, his eyes came to rest on her.

For just a fleeting moment, their eyes met. It only lasted for a fraction of a second before habit took over and they both averted their eyes. By the time she mustered the courage to look up again, his back was to her and he was walking toward the student union.

Biting her lower lip, she stuck her well-chewed pin in her book and set it beside her Wilderness Experience book bag. Leaving everything behind, she got up and lightly sprinted after him. Things like what on _Earth are you doing, Anne Renee Credible?_ and _what about Brad?_ roared through her head as she approached the retreating man. He must have heard her footsteps, as he stopped and turned just as she reached him.

One of his thick, brown eyebrows went up in the cutest way as he smiled at her.

"Uh, hi." Was all she could muster. She had no idea why she suddenly went after him and really had no plan as to what she was going to say to him when she caught up to him.

His response was equally brilliant. "Huh?"

She stood there what seemed like an eternity, though it was only about half a minute. "You're a Senior, right?"

"Yeah, uh, do I know you?"

Not knowing what else to do, she stuck out her hand. "My name's Anne. I've seen you around the science department. I'm pre-med."

He took her hand an shook it as if he were meeting a business acquaintance. "Oh, gotcha. That's where I've seen you. Um, what can I do for you, Anne…?"

"Credible. Anne Credible." She realized she still had his hand. It was large and warm and a bit rougher than she was expecting, as if he had done hard work at some point in his life. Without letting go, she looked back into his eyes.

They were darker than she was expecting. Somehow she thought he would have blue eyes like hers, but they were dark brown, almost black.

"James…James Possible. Uh, can I have my hand back?" he looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Anne almost said no, but she let it go anyway. The next words jumped out of her mouth before she could think about them. "Did I hear you needed a date for the Science Department Mixer Friday?"

James looked utterly befuddled. His mouth hung open as if he were trying to speak but couldn't form whole words. "Uh, er, um, well…" His hand went to the back of his neck. "I kind of just promised Drew I'd let him find me one."

"Oh." She said quietly, disappointment evident on her pretty features.

"Uh, listen, I've got to get some lunch. Guess I'll see you around." He said sheepishly, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

"K." She waved slightly as he turned to go.

_He's just shy…but so cute!_ she said to herself as she headed back to her books. Suddenly Brad Nelson was so last semester.

That Friday night, she made certain to be at that mixer. As a pre-med student, she had an in with the Science Department. As social events went, it was nothing special. There was some music playing, people talking in groups and plenty of beer (that was before the drinking age went up to twenty-one!)

Brad wanted to go out, but that usually meant him wolfing down all but one slice of a large pie at _Pizza Shack_, maybe a movie, then a drive out to the bluff at the end of Logging Camp Road. The making out was always fun, at least until he tried taking things too far for her comfort. Second base was a foregone conclusion, but he was under the impression that since they were both adults, home plate was his pre-ordained right. Not at least if she had anything to say about it.

The excuse she gave even made her roommate groan. "Sorry, I'm washing my hair tonight, Brad. No, I'm washing it tomorrow night too. Maybe next week. See ya."

He wouldn't get the hint if she had said 'we need to talk' or just came right out and said they were breaking up.

What exactly was she doing anyway? The only clear thought she had in her head was that she no longer wanted to go with him. They had been together since they were both in High School, but enough was enough. She wasn't in love with him and like he said, she was an adult. Time to quit playing and move on.

The dress she had on was distinctly uncomfortable. Not because of the way it fit, but because of what it was. It was shorter than anything she owned, and somewhat tighter. She wasn't built with generous curves, but that dress certainly created some on her slender frame. Only, once Bibi Matthews brought it out, she knew she had to wear it. Anne Credible might have been a very conservative 'good girl,' but she knew the power of a little black dress.

James Possible wasn't hard to find. He was with two of his friends, laughing uproariously at some private joke. The little creepy one named Drew was nowhere to be seen. The three of them were alone, just laughing long and hard, with youthful abandon.

Apparently, Drew didn't come through with any dates.

Downing half of her beer in one gulp, Anne screwed up her courage and went up to the trio.

"Hi." She said, locking eyes with James.

"Hey!" He looked at her a moment, then took a long drink from his own cup.

The other two took a long, hard look at her, then at their friend. The Asian one pointed his finger at James like a pistol, made a little click noise and headed off into the party with his other friend, leaving the two of them alone.

"No date, huh?" She asked, feeling the slight warmth of the alcohol in her system.

"Uh, no, not…really." A huge smile split his face as he started giggling again.

"What's so funny?" She put her free hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Long story. You here with someone?"

"Maybe." She answered coyly.

They ended up talking well into the party, their beers long forgotten. Things hadn't even started winding down when they left, still talking as they walked across the dark and deserted campus. It wasn't long before they found themselves sitting on the hood of her mother's car in the school parking lot.

It didn't occur to her until many years later that James might have had more than his share of the cheap brew flowing at that party before she got to him, but they ended up driving around town for a while in that car, since he didn't have one of his own. He droned on and on how he wanted a classic Jaguar, but he was sinking every penny he had into his education at the time.

Naturally, the car found itself on Logging Camp Road, and of course, it ended up parked on the infamous bluff, overlooking one of the nicer neighborhoods of Middleton.

Anne smiled to herself, remembering that night, and the next night, and the Sunday night following that…and the next weekend. The time when Brad showed up at the bluff had almost completely faded from her mind, but at least James was able to make it clear things were over between the now defunct couple. The sight of him standing up to a man twice his size would never fade. Then there was the trip up to Mount Middleton later that winter. Not much skiing was accomplished then.

Then there was the quiet stroll though the park downtown, just like they had done a dozen times already. Only that one time they didn't just end up sitting on a park bench lightly kissing. They had been to a nearby restaurant for dinner and were dressed up for the evening. James stopped, near a bridge abutment that was covered in graffiti. The rest of the park was beautiful, but that strange, incongruous bit of tagging stood out in her mind at that moment.

James dropped to one knee and brought out a ring.

Kim just about fainted when Anne finally told her that her father had proposed to her in almost the exact same place Ron proposed. At least then, the sprinklers hadn't come on just as she was about to answer.

The laundry was running, so it was time to get some other chores done. She reached into the small closet in the second floor hall and got out the vacuum cleaner.

One distinct benefit of having a husband who was not only a rocket scientist, but a closet mad inventor was having a really quiet vacuum cleaner. She could actually hear herself think over it. Almost absently, she started humming again. She got through the first bars of the Wedding March one more time before she heard a strangely familiar voice.

"So I guess the Princess showed you her ring after all, huh?"

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	4. Part IV  Dead Trees and Dollar Signs

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part IV - Dead Trees and Dollar Signs**

* * *

"This is criminal!" 

Kim scowled deeply, holding the first item of her current quest in her small hands. It wasn't large and it certainly wasn't heavy, but apparently it was worth far more than it looked.

The crowds hadn't moved in quite yet, allowing her a better chance at getting everything she needed on the first visit. Still, once she got to the place she was told she would find it, her eyes just about bugged out of her head.

"Forty five dollars for a secondary workbook? In paperback?" Kim growled.

Ron waddled by with a stack of books cradled in his hands. "You'd think the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything was in here, at least for what these cost." He dropped the stack on a handy table, making notes on a running list. The growing figure at the bottom was staggering.

Kim went right up to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Hello to you too, college man." She set her one book down beside his stack and took his hand.

He gave it a good squeeze. It was a habit left over from high school, a gesture the kids called a 'hand hug.' It was supposed to convey everything that a good, long hug, a little kiss or even some good old fashioned lip smacking was, considering all those acts were prohibited by the Public Display of Affection rules.

"You know we don't have to do that any more." Kim giggled, returning the squeeze.

Ron just smiled at her, still holding her hand. "Doesn't mean we have to quit."

"No." She grinned, they leaned over and gave him a short kiss on the lips, making certain he could feel her tongue run across his bottom lip while she did it. "But we sure don't have to limit ourselves to that any more…Like we ever did before anyway." Her grin got even wider.

"Yeah, I seem to remember that attitude getting us in trouble at least once."

Kim inspected his pile of books. "Ron, every one of these is used."

"Yeah, I hear that's the way to go, plus it saves a little bit a claude." He rubbed his fingers together for effect.

Taking one off the top, Kim went back to the shelf it came from. "You sure don't save a lot that way. So, what's the deal? Why not just get a nice fresh copy?"

He took the book from her hands and flipped through it. Whole passages were highlighted and there were notes of all kinds scribbled in the margins. "That's the point. Somebody's already done half the work."

Kim crinkled her nose. "So, how do you know whoever had that book last wasn't a complete idiot?"

"Guess you've got a point, but hey, I still save some money. Maybe it's a college urban legend, but hey, it's worth a shot. Just like paying attention to which professors you sign up for."

Kim picked several more of the books she needed off the shelves, taking crisp new copies at full price rather than save a few buck on the dog-eared older copies. "So not the drama, Ron. That's just more 'Food Chain' stuff. This prof is cool, that one assigns too much work. Blah-blah, yadda-yadda. I'm so not falling into that trap again. Besides, do you know who happens to be a professor here?"

"I've already seen. I've got him for my History prof."

Kim looked genuinely surprised. "Really? I didn't know Doctor Snyder taught history too, I thought he was just English." Halfway through their Senior year of High School, Kim's English teacher was suddenly replaced by the ultra-demanding, hyper-intellectual literature professor.

"He's here? Okay, now that is just too freaky. Tell me you don't have his class."

"Not! I've got Doctor Hannibal this semester. Wait, if you're not talking about Snyder, then who?" She turned and saw the expression on his face. "Oh no, please no. Not here too."

"Yes, he's here." He moaned. "Seems Assistant Principal Steve Barkin is also moonlighting as a part-time associate professor here."

"Come on, Ron, it can't be that bad. It's not like we can't avoid him."

"Guess again, KP. I was supposed to have Professor Kaufman for History, but it seems there was some mishap involving a sliding blackboard and he's out for the semester, so they've got Barkin filling in for him. I swear, it's like I've got some curse hanging over me."

"Ron."

"I'm cursed. He even noticed me right off the bat! He was looking right at me the whole time, and you know what else he did?"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Lemme guess, pop-quiz?"

"Yeah! Two seconds in and he's already pounding us. I've even got homework."

She put her hand in the middle of his back, kneading gently. "It's okay, Ron. You've just got to deal with him for one semester, and we both are going to get lots of homework. Look on the bright side, he can't have too many morning classes and still hold down his job at MHS."

"I guess." He slumped his shoulders, still sulking.

Kim put the last of her selections in her pile. Other students were starting to file in. "Look at the bright side, Ronnie. You don't have to be back in his class until Wednesday and I don't have any big assignments yet. Why don't we blow this joint and spend some quality time?"

He smiled slightly. "Depends on the quality of that quality time."

"I'm thinking a little go home, close the hatch and make Dad wonder what we're doing quality time." She cooed.

Ron laughed softly. "We do that, and he's likely to get the key out and open your side door. That, or he's gonna fit me for a space suit again. You know they sent Frederick back up again, and your Dad's hinting he needs a partner."

"So not the drama." Kim held up her hand, twisting her ring almost absently. "I bet if I invited you to spend the whole night, he wouldn't even say a thing."

Ron groaned as he picked up his stack of books. There were enough that if he had to carry them all constantly, he'd need a hand truck, not a book bag. "I kinda think Mr. Dr. P's not quite ready for that, unless you've got your Mom in on it, running interference."

"He didn't say anything when we ran up to Durango together." She smiled at him warmly, with slightly hooded eyes.

"He just thought we went up there to ride the steam trains."

"There were trains? I didn't notice." Only weeks earlier they burned up the last couple nights of their planned two week vacation in the small Colorado resort town. What had begun as an extended road trip got sidetracked by a mission that ended with them saving the entire eastern seaboard (if not the whole planet) from an anti-matter weapon. They spent a few days at home recovering from what had happened before simply up and heading into the mountains. They were saving themselves for their wedding night, but they put that promise to a rather extreme test while they were there. That, and Ron spent almost five hours in front of a television watching a marathon of his favorite cartoon on the Mouse Ears channel.

Kim shrugged as she hefted her own weighty stack. "You're right. He's got this weird double standard about us now. Away, it's like he expects us to be making out and stuff. In the house, it's like I'm still sixteen."

"Out of sight, out of mind." Ron agreed.

Even though they were keeping a running total of their books, their jaws still dropped when they were rung up. Kim was certain what she was paying for books had to be as much as her parents paid in tuition just more than two decades earlier.

"Criminal." Kim groaned as they hoofed it to her car.

"Should' a brought my camping backpack." Ron griped as he struggled with his load. He started to grab Kim's stack as well, trying to be a gentleman, but she would have none of that. It was one thing for him to hold a car door for her on their dates, but the rest of the time she wanted to be treated purely as an equal. Not to mention, he'd have been so worn out by the time they got there they would have little chance for some one-on-one.

As it was, they were both going to enjoy a nice back-rub. That they could do without catching any glares from Kim's Dad.

Neither of them noticed the tall student watching them as they walked by. He was dressed much like the rest of the group he was standing with. That is, all in black. His skin was very fair, very much like Ron's, but it looked even paler with his jet black hair and black net shirt. Even though it was the waning days of Summer, he was wearing a ratty black trench coat with silver chains draped over his body in several places. Capping off his over-the-top Goth appearance was an eyebrow ring and a studded dog collar. Once the couple was out of sight, he simply walked away from the clutch of social rebels he temporarily glommed onto, speaking into a studded leather wrist band.

The game was afoot.

* * *

Kim arranged the last of her books on top of her chest of drawers. There certainly were a lot more of them than there had been at any point before, making her wonder if she needed to get a book shelf. Ron sat on the bed just watching her, or more exactly, watching her backside. It was something she noticed him doing more often since they had come back from their little getaway and at least in the privacy of her own room, she didn't mind it at all. 

Walking behind her changing screen, she stripped out of her red jersey and cargo pants, changing into some cut-off shorts her mother made out of an old pair of her mission cargos. While she really didn't mind changing right in front of him any more, there was still a sort of decorum to be observed in her home. Ron even turned his head and covered his eyes as he had always done.

"I kinda think our dressing alike was a bit of a bust, considering we only saw each other for about five minutes before the book store." She sat down beside him, leaning back on her outstretched arms.

"Least we'll have time to eat lunch together tomorrow."

Kim pulled a face, sticking her tongue out slightly. "Did you see the caf? I think they must have trucked in some leftover mystery meat from MHS."

Ron scooted further back on the bed, crossing his legs and going to work on her shoulders. Moments later, she was making sounds sure to bring her father running up the stairs any moment.

"Oh, it's so worth having you in my life, just to do that." She moaned. "Most def benefits of having a boyfriend with big hands."

"I'm glad Ronald only had his hands on your shoulders when I heard you say that." James was just reaching the top of the stairs.

"Why, what on Earth would you mean by that." Kim asked with a sly smile, almost causing both Ron and her Dad to choke. "Where's Mom?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Haven't seen her. Guess she's still tied up at work. So, how did your first day go?"

"Pretty fair. Ron got a nasty surprise. Oh, here." She grudgingly pulled free of Ron's hands and rooted around in her discarded pants. Pulling out a receipt, she handed it to her Dad.

James' shoulders slumped. "Well, there goes a new Jag this year."

Kim wrapped her arms around her father. "Daddy, I don't think a few hundred dollars for books is going to break the bank."

"Tell me that again when you have to pay for them with your own money." He said good-naturedly.

"That's what I told her on the way home, Mr. Dr. P." Ron sat up a little straighter, then leaned back on his arms like Kim had been earlier.

"Seems with all your money, maybe you should have paid for your fiancé's books yourself."

Ron grinned. "I would have been glad to, but Dad beat me to it this morning before I left. I can buy anything I need for school out of the account he set up, but that's it. Everything else is still stuck in the trust until we get married."

"I know, Ronald. Just joshing with you."

Kim looked around her room, paying special attention to the pile of clothes she just took off. "That's kind of strange. You didn't' pick up my room this afternoon, did you?"

James looked a little uncomfortable. "No, your mother usually does that. Why?"

"Well, I know it's not real good, but I kind of left my pajamas and the clothes I had on last night out. Or at least I thought I did. Are you sure Mom hasn't been home?"

He scratched his head. "You know, I think she said she was only working a half day. Maybe they paged her."

Kim pursed her lips. "Doesn't she usually leave a note when that happens."

"Hang on." He pulled out his cell phone and walked down the stairs. Moments later they heard him hang up and make another call.

"That's strange." He said as they followed him down to the second floor. "She signed out at noon today and left. She's not answering her cell either."

Kim was starting to get worried. She checked around the house. The clothes hamper was empty and the things she had been wearing the night before were in the dryer. She started pulling the clean items out, folding them as she thought. Ron joined in, having a little better time making a neat stack.

He held up a purple dress. "Hey, isn't this what Mrs. Dr. P was wearing this morning?"

She looked it over. "She's got half a dozen like that, Ron. I'm sure it's nothing, her lab coat's gone. She's probably over at the Medical Center right now following up on something and forgot to check in." Kim wished she was as confident as she thought she sounded. When it came to her career, Anne Possible was a meticulous perfectionist. One had to be to be a neurosurgeon.

What's more, her weirdar was going off. Too many things had happened to her to ignore that.

That prompted her to go over the house one more time, this time with a much more critical eye. Besides the signs that some housework had been done, nothing seemed amiss to her…

…until Ron went into his old room.

"KP, have you all been airing this room out? I know I could get a little, um, well, you know, when I've had too much Bueno Nacho, or your Mom's meatloaf, but hey, I've been out of here for a week."

Kim followed him into the room. Despite the amount of time they spent together while he was living there, she only rarely went in there. She never mentioned it to Ron, but the room did have a particular odor to it. It wasn't anything bad, only it reminded her of Grandpa Possible and it made her miss him all the more. That's where he sometimes stayed when she was little, before Nana briefly moved to Middleton after he passed away.

Not only was the window open, the vacuum cleaner was in the room, lying on its side, still plugged into the wall. That was something her fastidious mother never, ever did. Rushing over to the open window, she looked at the latch and the nearly undetectable security strip. Nothing looked damaged in any way.

She tried telling herself it was nothing. Her Mom had gotten home and was paged and had to run back to the hospital. It happened all the time. If it was an emergency, it was entirely possible she simply abandoned her housework and rushed back over there. That would explain the freshly laundered dress and her lab coat being gone. It wouldn't have mattered if she was in her cleaning togs, she would simply change into scrubs at the Medical Center if she had to.

Ron picked up something from the floor near the window. "Who chews gum?"

She looked at the silver inner wrapper in Ron's hand. Nobody in that house regular chewed any kind of gum. Her Mom detested the stuff, having cleaned enough of it out of Kim's hair when she was little, before banning the stuff outright when she got her braces. Candy was dandy, but gum would rot teeth faster than anything in her opinion.

Then it hit her.

Ron sometimes like watching old cop movies. In one of them, the lead actor demonstrated how he could use the metal foil from a wrapper to defeat certain kinds of security systems.

She raced back up the stairs, getting her cell phone out of her pants. There were just a few numbers in it that weren't programmed into her Kimmunicator. One of those was her mother's partner.

"Grace? Hi, This is Kim Possible. Can I speak to Doctor DiMaggio?" She waited a few heartbeats. "Doctor Di…Oh, hi Doctor Guberman, uh, you haven't seen my Mom, have you? She's not in the middle of a procedure or something, is she?...Okay, thanks…no, haven't heard from Kevin since grad…okay, bye."

Gritting her teeth, she pulled out the Kimmunicator and punched up Wade. "Wade, I need you to access the sensor logs for the house security."

"Huh? I don't really…"

"No time, Wade. If you can record cold germs getting transferred from the Tweebs to me, you can tell if somebody's been in here."

"Okay, but what am I looking for?"

"Guest bedroom window. We can't get a hold of Mom and I think something's wrong."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	5. Part V  I Gotta Do What First Thing

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part V - I Gotta Do What First Thing in the Morning?**

* * *

The activity in the Possible household could best be described as ordered chaos. Wade quickly determined the window's security was indeed breached, about two hours after Anne Possible came home and turned off the majority of the alarm system. That didn't mean interruptions in the system wouldn't be recorded. Whoever came through that window wasn't taking a chance the alarm would actually go off.

They were obviously professionals. While she waited for twins to get home from soccer practice, she did a thorough scan of the scene. There were no fingerprints, no skin oil smudges, no epithelial cells left behind, nothing to identify the culprit.

There were positive signs. There was no sign of any kind of struggle save for the overturned vacuum, and even it was turned off. Wade ran a chemical scan and couldn't detect anything like chloroform or any other knockout gas residue. That didn't rule out darts, but it made it all the more likely if Kim's Mom was taken, she went willingly. That, at least, boded well.

The twins raced in the door, already apprised of the sitch over their Kimmunicators (they were starting to get lazy about telling people they were a Jimmunicator and a Timmunicator.) Minutes later they were back downstairs in their mission gear.

Kim was the one barking orders. The moment she went into mission mode, authority in the home shifted from her father to her. James' ego was not going to be bruised, since he was smart enough to know his daughter was the best person for the job, especially if one of the people he loved most in the world was in trouble.

Ron tossed her equipment belt and her gloves over to her, correctly assuming she wasn't going to take the time to change out of her shorts, especially since she already had a mission top on.

"Wade, can you get a lock on Mom's cell phone?"

"Already done, Kim. The GPS locator has her at a location about five miles from the Mount Middleton Ski Lodge."

"That's not Drakken's old lair, is it?" Ron looked over her shoulder rather than pull out his own Kimmunicator.

"It's not far from there, but I'm not getting any kind of reading like artificial reinforcements or anything. Unfortunately, there's a thunderstorm over that area right now and I can't get a visual satellite scan." Wade explained.

"Is it stationary?"

"Yes. It's also powered down at the moment. Kim, you realize, if something's wrong, they could have simply chucked it some place to lead you on a wild goose chase."

"Best thing we've got." She turned to the boys. "Ron, Jim, Tim, you're with me. Dad, keep on the horn with the hospital, see if anyone's seen her."

"Got it, Kimmie."

"Let's roll." The four of them piled out into the garage, taking their positions in the Cruiser. Ron was in mission mode himself, taking shotgun instead of whining about who was driving. Oddly, Kim found herself thinking that he really needed to get himself another car, a motorcycle, or even another scooter since he was living at home again.

She shook her head, wondering how she could be so distracted by wishing he'd get another motorcycle. The Rockets on his old scooter had caught fire while they were inside at their Junior Prom, putting the old blue wreck out of its misery. Later that summer, for his birthday, his father bought him an old motorcycle. Kim ended up driving it as much as, if not more than, Ron, especially when he was in Japan.

Kim almost had to pound her forehead on the steering wheel as she put the interlock key in and hit the start button. How was Ron-style randomness creeping into her mind? Were they literally becoming one person? Sure, she loved him for all the world, but this was the last time she wanted to be losing focus.

The "engine" revved up as the console came to life. In reality, her PT Cruiser was almost silent. It had a modern 'hybrid' drive-train, but instead of a gasoline powered generator, there was a small cold-fusion power plant supplying electric power to the motors on each wheel. Wade used the designs Rufus came up with when he was under the influence of the Project Phoebus beam to build the car's internals, and to keep it a secret (considering the car would actually be worth millions on the open market) he installed a sound system that made it sound exactly like the turbo model of the popular wagon.

She shoved her Kimmunicator into a receptacle in the dash, bringing a small screen to life. During their vacation, Ron took a wrong turn in Albuquerque and ended up in Roswell, New Mexico instead of Amarillo, Texas. That wasn't going to happen again, so she had Wade install a more sophisticated communications system with GPS navigation capabilities. A map of the area, with a route to her Mom's cell-phone immediately appeared.

Kim put the car in drive (she liked backing into the garage) and hit the door remote. She was about to hit the accelerator and peel out of the driveway when the family's brand new mini-van pulled in right in front of her.

"Huh?" all four of them said at once as Anne Possible got out, looking as if nothing in the world was out of the ordinary.

"Hi, Kids. Oh, sorry, did I block you in?" She smiled cheerfully.

"Mom?" Kim climbed out of her car. "Where were you?" She looked her mother up and down. She was still wearing a t-shirt and jeans, with a pair of old sneakers. Most def not what she would normally be seen outside of the home in.

"Oh, a friend of mine from work called me and invited me to lunch." She said dismissively.

Kim just favored her mother with an odd look, as did the other three as they exited the Cruiser. "Dressed like that?"

Anne just waved her hand at them. "Oh, I told her I was just dressed for cleaning the house, but she was like, 'come as you are' and all, so I just jumped in the van and drove right over."

"All the way to Mount Middleton?" Kim asked skeptically. She glanced at the monitor in her car. The little green dot was still sitting right where it was before. "And why is your cell phone still up there?"

"Maybe the question that needs to be asked is why are you tracking my cell phone, and for that matter, why are all of you dressed up for a mission but still standing here talking. If you need to go, then let me move the van."

"Mom…quit changing the subject."

Anne looked in her purse and rooted around. "Oh, darn it. I did leave my phone up there. Guess she'll bring it by the office in the morning."

"Mom?"

"So, do you want me to move the van or not? Certainly if all four of you are needed, then you shouldn't be wasting time right here."

"Mom…you're the mission. We come home and find the house broken into and you're not here? What were we supposed to think?"

Her mother looked genuinely surprised. "The house was broken into? How, where? Is anything missing?"

Kim put her hands on her hips. "You were." She said flatly.

"Really, Kimmie, I think you're overreacting. If I forgot to close a door or something, I guess I'm just getting sloppy."

Kim's father poked his head out the garage door. "Oh, you're all still here, I just called…Anne?"

"Not you too?" she asked with a slight laugh. Closing her purse, she headed for the door. "So, what do you all want on your pizzas tonight?" She went on inside, as if nothing had happened.

Ron moved over beside Kim. "Okay, I'm confused."

"You're not the only one." She groused. "There's something hinky here."

Jim and Tim shrugged as one. "Dunno?" They took off into the house, probably to change back into their usual clothes.

Shaking her head, Kim went back in the house as well, with Ron in tow.

* * *

Sherry "Shego" Godfrey looked at the cell phone Anne Possible left with her. The small house she rented up in the hills had electricity, but that was about it, so the little device was her only real contact with the rest of the world, save hitching another ride back down the mountain.

The isolation she felt was a necessary evil. She might not have Kimmie on her trail any more, but she was still officially a wanted fugitive. Not to mention the fact her 'protector' was wanted even more than she was. There was no doubt in her mind that, at least for the moment, she was the one who would be doing the protecting if GJ or the FBI managed to track her down. He talked a good game, but without his equipment, he was really not much more than a fairly normal (physically, at least) guy who happened to have blue skin.

Most of the ride back up to this place in that detestable mini-van was spent convincing Kimmie's Mom to help her. Ever since the day she betrayed her brothers and set out on her now-defunct life as a master thief and muscle-for-hire, Sherry had considered herself completely self-sufficient. In other words, she could take care of herself. She didn't need Drakken, she didn't need…him. Or at least that's what she thought.

Then, two months earlier she was sitting in her bedroom at the little beach house she had been living in…

This was **_not_** happening!

No!

No! No! No! No! No! **_NO! _**

****

Shego sat down heavily on the end of her bed, slouching her shoulders and hanging her head. She looked at the object in her hand, as if it had changed in the last few minutes. It had not. It did change once, but that was when she first used it. She looked upwards and muttered a few words in Hebrew before she caught herself.

Praying was something she had not done since she was a child.

Once again she glanced at the white, wand shaped plastic held in her fingers. The plus symbol in the tiny window was giving no sign of changing into a minus.

A plus sign.

That meant positive.

_What was I thinking?_ She raged to no one but herself. _There's a reason I don't like getting close to people! _

Men in particular!

She heard a sound and rushed out of her room, looking outside. It was only a mail truck crunching across the beach house's gravel driveway. It wasn't Neil's teal colored Ford. He wasn't likely to be home until late in the afternoon. The tourist season was in full swing and he almost never got his shop closed on time. During the off-season he often came home for lunch, but that was almost impossible now. It didn't matter the shop was only three miles away.

Fighting down an unreasonable panic, Shego ran back into the bathroom and scooped up the box and instructions she had left on the edge of the tub. She held everything in her hands, the thin cardboard crushed in her grip.

She almost flared up her fists to incinerate the whole shoot-n-match.

No. That would mean using her Go Team Glow power. That meant undoing what Neil had done for her. He had proven that he could reverse the effects of her power, making her look like a normal woman again, but explaining why she had slipped and used them again was not something she wanted to do.

Why not? Neil had never said anything about not using her powers. In fact, he never really made any demands about it. He had not even so much as asked her to leave her life of crime, her life of utter and complete evil behind.

Why then did she feel like using her powers would be betraying him? What was wrong with betraying him anyway? She'd done it before. Evil, betrayal, larceny, blackness. That's what she was, wasn't it?

She went back into her room and shut the door, setting the pitiful lock just in case. Everything in her hands was thrown on the bed, the white wand landing with its little window facing up, the little plus sign clearly visible.

_How in the hell was she pregnant? _

Okay, that was stupid. Of course she knew how. She 'bumped nasty' with Neil. It was just that once. Well, that one night rather. Logically she knew that once was all it took, but somehow it just didn't seem fair. If this was going to happen, why couldn't there have been more?

Neil had been standoffish with her since it happened a month earlier. She had tried kissing him, tried talking to him but it seemed with him that it hadn't even happened. He still did all the 'I'm your friend and I'll do anything for you' things, but it was clear that's all he wanted to be.

Not just a little frightened, Shego crammed the pregnancy test and the instructions back into the box. Then she rolled it up in some dirty clothes (which were strewn all around her room) and stuffed it into the bottom drawer of her dresser. _There! He never goes through my things! He knows better! _

No. Dr. Drakken knew better. He knew she would blast him to kingdom come if she ever caught him going through her stuff. She had never said any such thing to Neil. There never had been any need, since he respected her privacy.

Would he if he sensed something was wrong with her?

What was he going to think, anyway? When they were seventeen they had first explored physical love. Just their luck, their very first time, she ended up in the very same condition. She wasn't even aware of it until she lost the baby following an especially tough battle with Team Go's nemesis, Aviarius. The two of them became poster kids for abstinence, at least until their relationship came to a crashing halt a few months later.

The intervening years hadn't totally been a dry spell for her. She was, after all, a bad, bad girl! Then again her lifestyle didn't put her into the singles scene very much and it wasn't like she was going to go for Drakken or one of his henchmen_. Bleaaaah_!

She was actually VERY thankful Drakken had been so resistant to her advances when she was under the influence of the Moodulator. She had been practically crawling all over him! The thought of…_that…_ just gave her the belly flips.

That left a few chance encounters with random hotness, and most of those were scared off when they found out who she was. Most, that is, unless they were turned on by making it with a publicly known villainess. In hindsight, there really weren't all that many of them at all. She could count the times on one hand (not counting a 'test drive' of Synthodrone 901 while Drakken was at a Bueno Nacho board meeting.)

This never happened with any of them! _Was she only deluding herself thinking it couldn't happen_? The doctors who treated her when she miscarried said she shouldn't have any trouble getting pregnant again. What was different about Neil? Was he like, some super stud? Did he have something the rest of them didn't

Did it have anything to do with the fact that, deep down, when she really thought about it, she was still in love with Neil.

No, that wasn't it. Love and biology are two completely different things. It's all that "Knowledge Channel" stuff about the sperm meeting the egg. It was just that his sperm was on the way to her egg at just the right time.

Twice!

Then Neil died. If it wasn't for Drakken escaping from prison and offering to care for her, she would be totally alone. Her pride in her self-sufficiency aside, she found she really didn't want to be alone.

She also, finally, came to the conclusion, his self-applied title aside, Drakken was about as much a doctor as she was. Too much had happened to her in her lifetime and suddenly there was too much at stake.

In short, she was scared.

It surprised her how much the life growing inside her meant to her. That meant a lot of changes. One, he biggest one, meant turning her back on what she had become, turning her back on "Shego." She had enough money squirreled away (and not all of it ill-gotten) she really never had to steal again, so she simply vanished. She left her powers turned 'off', ensuring they would not be able to track them, and became simply Sherry. A little confidence returned to her.

Then, that morning, there had been a little blood. In that instant she knew she needed a doctor, a real doctor. But seeking medical help meant putting herself back on the grid and potentially risking capture. That would definitely mean losing the child to another family the moment it was born, and that simply could not happen.

Swallowing her pride, she turned to the only doctor she thought she might be able to trust. Oddly enough, that was Kimmie's mother.

Oh, Anne Possible tried convincing her to check into the Medical Center under an assumed name, but she was too frightened of that. The elder Possible also argued that this was way out of her specialty, but in the end, she agreed to do what she could.

As near as Dr. Possible could tell, she was fine and the baby was healthy. Somehow she was going to have to get her in to some kind of facility where they could take an ultrasound, but that could wait for the moment.

Sherry had her a doctor, but that would come at a price. A steep price.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	6. Part VI  Here's Your Sign

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part VI - Here's Your Sign**

* * *

Kim was doing something she knew she wasn't supposed to be, but part of her didn't care. It was just after dark and most of the main campus had cleared out. Being only a medium sized school, Middleton College held most of their classes during the day. She was fortunate, even with the heavy class-load she had signed up for in order to complete her difficult degree in just four years, she managed to have all of her classes done by mid-afternoon. Ron didn't turn out so lucky. Being in much more basic courses, the classes were larger, forcing him to take his science lab in the evening. He kept insisting he was going to hop a bus home, but hanging around waiting for him wasn't so bad. 

The first couple weeks she used the time to explore the campus a little better, something that was discouraged in high school. Back there, you were pretty much supposed to be someplace specific at any given time. At college, with the larger gaps between actual classes, there was more opportunity to wander around and discover things.

One thing in particular she liked were the study halls. At MHS, that usually meant a vacant classroom. At her new school, the halls were usually like smaller versions of the library, with handy resource texts and large tables where a student could spread out and do some serious work. During the days, the better spots in those rooms were pretty much spoken for all the time, but at night she almost always had them to herself. They proved to be the ideal place to do the lion's share of her homework. Even when the rooms were crowded, she was pretty much left alone to do it, without constant interruptions from her mother doing housework or nosey brothers who were starting to discover loud music. All she had to do was plug her headphones into her Kimmunicator, set it for some soft random tunes and settle in.

She was getting used to working on a laptop instead of writing everything down. The portable computers were a virtual requirement for incoming students, though she thought at first she would be able to get away with using her Kimmunicator, but typing on the tiny keypad located under the main button panel proved to be a royal pain in her 'Little Bubble Butt.'

Both of them were a little afraid of what they would be in for, but they settled into a routine fairly easily. So far they had only missed a couple classes due to missions, but it was always easy to acquire good notes from new friends, so they were able to keep up. All in all, since a lot of their classes were in fact designed as transitions from what they were used to in high school, it wasn't all that hard to adapt. In fact, the pace actually seemed a little more leisurely since all of their classes weren't crammed into a single day.

Ron was the first one of them to actually make an honest-to-goodness friend. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, they had a large enough overlap in their schedules they could afford to have lunch together. At first they did try eating at the student cafeteria (people looked at them a little strangely when they called it 'the caf',) but it turned out to be just as bad as it looked so they went back to their old habit of bringing their lunches. That was a healthier choice anyway.

Then one day Ron's sandwich got scarfed up as a second breakfast, so he convinced Kim to walk with him and see what was to be had in the neighborhood. Things were quite a bit different in that part of town, at least compared to where they lived. Instead of a row of fast food joints like the Pizza Shack, Burger Prince, the Donut Shop, et cetera, the miniature 'downtown' that had evolved near the campus was made up of small, independently owned places. There were coffee shops…real places that hearkened back to the days of beatniks and poetry readings. There were funky little places, like one making creations called 'fish tacos,' which were far tastier than the rather prurient name suggested. There was a pizza place that served 'California Style' instead of the fast-food deep dish they were accustomed to.

It was the delicatessen that eventually got their business. Ron had never been much on keeping Kosher, but he still liked deli foods. The place looked like a real hole in the wall, with bare brick and the menu written on chalk boards. Case after case of every meat and cheese imaginable was in there, clearly catering to both those who followed the Jewish traditions and those who wanted something a little more 'white bread.' Kim made a habit of ordering a club sandwich (which was so large half of it could be wrapped up for the next day) and Ron would get a grilled pastrami reuben on pumpernickel.

The owner's son turned out to be in Ron's history class. His name was Paul Resnick and he was a fairly tall young man. He practiced a more traditional form of the Jewish faith, wearing long fore-locks and making a good-faith effort to grow the beard, though it would be several more years before it was anything more than a thin wisp growing from his chin. Even in class he wore his yarmulke, though he never had a single critical word about Ron's Reform Jew practices or the fact he was engaged to a gentile.

The two of them hit it off quickly, Paul helping Ron with the finer points of his Hebrew while Ron filled him in on the intricacies of dealing with "Professor" Barkin. They could talk for hours, though both of them had the presence to bring Kim in on the conversation when they could. Still, it was clear she was just a tad the outsider. She didn't mind. It was a very good thing Ron could make a friend like that.

Being a conscientious student, Kim pretty much kept on top of her assignments, so some nights even the empty study halls started feeling a little stuffy to her. Even though there were signs all over the campus warning students not to walk alone, she found herself doing just that, figuring her training would be enough to protect her. After all, help was only a button push on her Kimmunicator away.

The ubiquitous clutch of Goths were hanging out in the quad. Kim gave them a wide berth, partly because they sort of gave her the creeps, partly because they all smelled of stale cigarette smoke. Grandpa Possible had been a pipe smoker and every now and again she would catch a whiff of one and it would take her back to younger days when he was still with them, but cigarettes she just couldn't stand. How could the same plant that produced something so wonderful and homey as pipe smoke smell so dad-gummed horrible in a cigarette. Even cigars were preferable to that smell, though most of those made her gag to be around. One of her professors, a tall, lanky fellow from Arkansas, had the habit of gnawing on one all the time. She never saw him light it up, but the miasma on his clothes told her he must at some point or another.

Ron's 'Never be normal' attitude had rubbed off on her enough to be tolerant of other people, but the Goth culture she just couldn't fathom. On the surface they seemed to be rebelling against the norm, striking out in their own direction. In reality, their look was even more uniform than people who dressed more conservatively. She had met people who preferred wearing black as much as possible, but they took it to an extreme. Some of them had their faces painted white, some had visible tattoos. There were dog collars and chains and thick soled boots that looked like combat boots on steroids. On the whole they looked dirty and more than a little dangerous.

Well-honed senses told her that one of them was paying her much more attention than the rest. It was a pleasant, warm mid October evening, so she was dressed conservatively in her black slacks and teal top. Except for the fact she knew she was very attractive, there was nothing about her to distinguish her from any of several hundred more coeds on the campus.

She didn't break her stride, but decided maybe it was better to head back toward the science building and wait in the study hall for Ron to get out after all. Sixteen kinds of kung-fu aside, something about the guy was really creeping her out in the worst way. Besides being tall, there was nothing to really distinguish him from the rest of the ebon clothed college students. He didn't have much on in the way of face paint except a lot of black makeup around his dark eyes, but he had the rest of the look down pretty well. Maybe it was the way he looked at her that gave her cold chills.

Without realizing it, she was walking faster, taking her clear of the quad, into a smaller space between some of the buildings. The warm, inviting look the Victorian buildings had during the day took on a more sinister cast at night. Pleasant bushes and cozy nooks formed deep shadows in the night. Even the inclusion of many street lights throughout the campus couldn't chase all that blackness away. It wasn't like the bland, modern looking buildings that made up the campus of Lowerton Community College or the huge, blockish nineteen sixties buildings of Upperton University. Modern lighting just wasn't made that could illuminate every shadowed corner in a place like this.

Feeling a little more frightened than she was accustomed to, and feeling very alone to boot, Kim decided to turn around and head right back to the science building. That meant passing near those other kids again, but she would rather take the more direct route through the middle of the campus than risk a wider loop to avoid them all together.

Getting her wits about her, she started back across the large, open area. Just to be on the safe side, she unclipped the Kimmunicator from her waist, holding it clasped to her chest along with her laptop. Kim was aware her body language would look like she was a little distressed, but it was a calculated risk. She started the video recorder on the device and held it so it would catch a picture of the group as she walked by. Something was troubling her about that one guy and she was going to find out who he was. If he was a student, his picture would be on file and that would pose little trouble for Wade. Being a college and not a secretive mega-corporation, he could access the systems without her having to chance getting caught like she was when they infiltrated Smarty Mart.

Her heart jumped a little bit when she realized he was no longer there by her second pass. Nervously she looked around, but he was nowhere in view. By the time she crossed into the pool of light near the entrance of Ron's building, her heart was hammering in her chest.

_I can do anything. I'm not in any more danger than I would be breaking into Dementor's fortress. _She tried telling herself. How had one random guy who just happened to notice her as she walked by affected her so much? It could have been as simple as a guy who was after all, still a guy under all that weirdo stuff and he thought she was attractive. It really shouldn't have been any different than her letting her eyes linger on some of he nicer looking men on campus (hey, she was committed to Ron for life, but she could still look!)

Kim almost yelped as she looked up at the glass doors that formed the entrance of the science building. He was standing right there alone, blowing smoke through his nostrils. His mouth curled into a sort of cockeyed smile as she walked past him. The look just sent cold chills down her spine, though she didn't know why. Unless he just happened to be skilled in some form of martial arts or had a weapon, there was no way he could hurt her and she really thought, given his appearance, he wouldn't have the discipline for the former and since the campus forbade any kind of weapon beyond a simple pocketknife, the chance of the latter was reduced, if not removed.

She didn't breath again until the glass doors slid shut behind her. Thankfully, she still had the video recorder running and it was likely she got a good picture of him. Hopefully Wade could match him up.

There was still thirty minutes left in Ron's lab, so started toward the study hall once more. She took one step into the room and realized the problem. It was by then completely deserted, as were many of the smaller classrooms nearby. The last thing she wanted to do was chance him coming inside and trapping her there. Well, he couldn't exactly trap her, but if he wanted to, there was nothing keeping him from coming inside once he finished his smoke. Just the thought of him being in the same room with her was enough for her.

Why am I behaving like a scared little girl who's afraid of the dark she asked herself as she made her way upstairs. The door to the lab was open and she could see the students inside busily working on their projects. From her vantage point, she couldn't see Ron but other, less obvious senses told her he was in there. Feeling somewhat more secure with other people nearby, she sat down on the floor, leaning against a handy wall. During the day, dozens of students could be seen sitting just like that, either waiting for a class to open up or just doing a little homework, or even simply vegging.

She cycled back through the video and found a good shot of the tall Goth. "Wade, I'm sending you a picture. See if you can match it up with the student directory."

"Sure thing, Kim. Got anything else that might speed up the search?"

"Sorry, just a face."

He set to work, using facial recognition software to compare the video shot to the picture the school security department had on file.

"Got a match. Dorian Conyers, age nineteen, Aurora, Illinois. Nothing spectacular. No arrests, no special notes in his file. He is kinda freaky looking." Wade put up the file shot. He wasn't wearing any of the black makeup but his hair was pulled up into a rooster crest. Kim shook her head, rolling her eyes. He was just your average, twenty-first century rebellious youth, dressing and acting like a freak, probably just to tweak his parents.

"You rock, Wade. Hey, you wanna meet Ron and Me at BN tomorrow night?" Kim took every opportunity she could to pry the younger teen out of his room, with varying degrees of success. The notion of all-you-can-eat Tex Mex and free pop refills was usually enough to do it, though she really wanted him to get onto a better diet as well.

"Sure, if you guys can pick me up."

"Kay. We're out of our last class at four, so look for us after that. See ya tomorrow." She shut off the device and clipped it back to her waist, feeling somewhat better. She might ask a few of her new friends if they knew about him. At nineteen he could either be a Freshman or a Sophomore at that point in the year. She kind of doubted he would be younger, though the makeup and hair made it hard to tell. Failing anything along those lines, she would simply let the matter drop.

There was a commotion in the classroom. Folks were packing up their materials, getting ready to leave. Ron was about the fourth person out and he caught sight of her almost immediately. Holding out his hand, he pulled her to her feet.

"I'm so hungry, I could eat a side of beef, what about you?" He said, not letting go of her hand.

Kim was fighting to keep her imagined ordeal from showing in her eyes, knowing if he looked into them long enough, he was going to know something was wrong. That wouldn't be fair to him, as good a mood as he appeared to be in.

"Sounds to me like somebody wants to take me to the steakhouse tonight." She smiled broadly. If there was one thing she found she really liked to eat – a lot – it turned out to be steak, though she preferred Ron's creations over anything that could be found at the national chain places. Still, they served a really good slab-o-beef at the roadhouse style place near the interstate, so they found themselves going there often, splitting a dinner, while ordering Rufus a big platter of cheese fries (Kim constantly had to get after Ron for sneaking some of the gooey treats. The red meat was fattening enough as it was.)

Their hands stayed locked together as they left the building. With Ron beside her (and a stream of his classmates still milling about) the whole campus seemed a lot brighter place, though the sun was by them completely gone. They set a brisk pace, heading for her car.

"Ronnie?" She asked, switching to one of her regular pet names, signaling she wanted to ask of something of a more personal nature.

"Yeah Babe?"

That made her smile. She would call him, variously, Ronnie or Baby or less often Honey (which tweaked him a little when they first started out, since that's what both their parents called each other sometimes) but Ron pretty much stuck to calling her Kim or KP. Every now and again he's work in Babe, just enough that it spiced things up a little bit.

"Your folks expecting you back tonight, you know, to help with CJ?"

"Nah, Mom's pretty much back on her feet now. Next week she's even going back to the gym to get more of her muscle tone back, so they've pretty much got a handle on the little sis front. Why do you ask? Wanna catch a movie or something?"

"No, I was just thinking. Maybe after dinner we can ride back to my house. Like, maybe, you could spend the night."

That surprised him a bit. They pretty much accepted that didn't sit too well with her Dad and let it go at that. Once winter set in, they were going to head up to the ski lodge some Saturday night, but for the time being they had reverted back to regular dating.

"You sure about that? You know that pushes your Dad's peeve button."

"Honey, at the moment, I don't really care." She realized she had already committed herself, so she related what had happened to her while he was in class. "I just don't want to be alone tonight, okay?"

"Sure, KP. Just, if your Dad says no…"

Kim nodded. "If he puts his foot down, that's it. It's still his house, but I'm going to tell him the same thing I told you. I think he'll understand."

Ron put his arm around her shoulders protectively. He understood perfectly well what she was feeling. Even a year ago this wouldn't have happened to her, but things had changed. Things had happened and even though nothing bad had happened to her physically, there were other kinds of scars, deep wounds that would never totally go away. Even her father would understand, given the sitch. That night wouldn't be about romance, though there would likely be some kissing. It was about making sure Kim felt safe, and Kim making sure it was Ron who made her feel that way.

Putting those darker thoughts away, he opened the passenger door for her, switching seamlessly into date mode.

Though he wished he knew more about this Dorian guy who set this off all over again.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	7. Part VII – Aw, Man! A Rerun

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part VII – Aw, Man! A Rerun**

* * *

"I thought we took these guys out last summer." Ron groused as he checked the glider-pack attached to his back. He was having a hard time getting used to it adhering directly to his super-suit instead of utilizing a harness. However, after Kim nearly falling to her death when Shego yanked the release, another means had to be found. Unfortunately, that meant, at least for the moment, the new packs only worked with their super-suits. Wade was working on retractable straps that could work with their regular mission gear, but for the moment they would have to rely on their old style jet-packs or wear the suits.

"Ron, we only nabbed a couple dozen of these guys that day, and they are called the World Wide Evil Empire, as in, all over the world? And the guy running the show did get away." Kim hefted her own pack onto her back, where the special panels adhered to her black and blue suit.

She watched him for a couple seconds, expecting his next words to be something along the lines of that not being his fault. Instead he looked worried and wouldn't meet her eyes. Something about that sitch was still bothering him, even though it happened back in the summer. It couldn't be the fight they had that morning, they had already cleared the air about that long ago. No, it was something else. Perhaps it really was as simple as the fact Agent Alpha got away.

The Air National Guard C-130 Hercules they were flying in was somewhere in the middle of their scale of preferred aircraft, with antiquated prop jobs at the bottom and private luxury jets at the top. Granted, anything that could get them safely to their drop-zone was fine with Kim. The military transport was the best Wade could come up with once he tracked down WWEE's current base of operations. Or course, they could always call in Global Justice and hop a ride on a hoverjet, but this was a Team Possible mission.

Kim allowed herself a small smile as they got ready to jump. Ron really wanted to do this, to the point he was willing to make a night jump with a tested but unproven flying pack. He must want a piece of Alpha pretty badly. That thought made her frown just a little. Personal vendettas could get you in trouble, make you lose focus. They were there to find out what their latest scheme was and, if possible, put a stop to it. If the sitch called for just recon, so be it. If things were too hot for the three of them to handle, then they would call for backup.

That is, if Doctor Director wasn't ferociously cranked at them for taking WWEE on alone. Betty Director's brother Sheldon, the one-time leader of the criminal organization, under the pseudonym of Gemini, may have been in prison, but she tended to take a very personal interest in bringing them down. That was part of the reason Kim wanted her team to take them on alone.

By her team, that meant Ron, Rufus and her. In her mind, if it called for the super-suits, it was too dangerous for the twins. Even so, she had them on standby, just in case. Needless to say, they weren't happy, but part of the deal they made with their parents was that, when it came to missions, Kim's word was law. Technically, so was Ron's, but the only time he had taken the reigns since Jim and Tim came on board was when Kim was captured by the very people they were about to reconnoiter.

The jump-master was making his way back toward them. "Thanks for the ride, Captain Reynolds." Kim flashed him a huge smile.

"It was the least I could do after you helped us reattach that forward buffer panel." The tall man said, giving her a thumbs up.

"No big, it was just a walk out onto the wing without a lifeline while we were deep in a cloud bank."

"We'll be over the jump-zone in thirty. When the ramp opens, we'll use hand signals, we won't be able to hear each other."

Both of the teens gave him a thumbs up in response.

If the packs were activated in an emergency, a helmet would snap out of a housing near the top of the unit, unfolding like some kind of high-tech origami creation. Since they were making a planned flight, she pulled the hood of her suit up, stuffing her hair carefully into it and put on a solid helmet with night vision capabilities in a special head's up display. Pulling the control arms out, she repeated the gesture to Captain Reynolds and got ready at the inside edge of the ramp.

He hit the controls and the rear half of the plane opened up. Carefully she made her way to the end of the ramp, Ron at her side. Once upon a time, she would have called him a baby for his fear of doing something like this, but she had come to understand it was a very deep rooted fear and only his utter devotion to her allowed him to overcome it. She craved the adrenaline rush of a dangerous stunt like this. In reality, it was Ron who had a lot more guts to go through with it despite being scared out of his wits.

They jumped at the same time, Kim's leap elegant, like a master cliff-diver, sailing into the air with her arms outstretched. Ron looked much more like he was fighting the urge to tuck his body into a cannonball position. Either that or he was trying to keep himself from flapping his arms fruitlessly.

At a pre-programmed point, the packs came to life. A pair of wings extended first from the bottom, then snapped open like a beetle's. Unlike their old units, these 'wings' were not true air-foils. Instead, they were artificial gravity projectors. They created a field of inverted gravity (commonly referred to as 'anti-gravity') that would keep them in the air much more effectively, also allowing them to hover at any point if they wished.

The other big advance over the old 'toasty buns' jet packs was the new drive. It was a compact ion engine that was safer and had an enormously greater range, since it did not rely on primitive combustible fuels. In reality, the resemblance the new packs bore to their forebears was only superficial. Wade had been extremely busy duplicating and adapting some twenty-fifth century technology he gained access to. He still included the familiar emergency helmet and the extendable control arms, so the packs could be handled the same.

Ron was just happy not to be burning the seat of his britches off for once.

They had already taken the new units for several test flights, getting used to the quicker handling and greater speed, but this was the first time to actually use them under real-world conditions, even if it was just a tactical insertion. True, they could have used parachutes, but that would not have given them an obvious exit strategy.

The heads-up display was certainly a plus. They were deep in the Rocky Mountains, really only just over a hundred miles from home, but the terrain would be dangerous to navigate without the clear synthetic view of the mountaintops the visors provided.

Ron recovered once they were flying under their own power. He was still scared, but he had his game face on. If she were alone, she probably would have free fallen almost the entire distance, only using her own pack to brake and land. That, or she would have cranked it up to full speed. This was something she truly enjoyed doing, to the point she sometimes wished she could fly without the artificial wings.

Oh well, if teen heroes were meant to fly…

They cut the power to their drives, letting their momentum carry them to their pre-determined landing zone. Kim's landing resembled that of a great bird of prey coming to light on its perch, the wings immediately snapping closed before being sucked back up into the casings.

Right behind her, Ron tried to emulate her landing, only to be tripped up by a loose stone, sending him tumbling into a heap, sliding to a stop in the gravel. Kim gritted her teeth and thanked their lucky stars for the protection their suits offered. Ron also had the added benefit of his newer 'rip-stop' cargo pants, putting that designation to the test.

Kim hit a control mounted on the back of her hand and the pack separated from her back. With a deft move, she caught the lightweight device and gently lowered it to the ground. She got to Ron before he could try the same thing, holding his as he hit the release. The packs were meant to be tough, but she didn't want to put that to the test by letting it hit the ground hard.

They touched another switch on their control pads and an overlay of the intelligence they had on the sight came to life on their displays. The base was well camouflaged and without the recorded visuals, they could easily have missed the hidden entrance.

The two guards at the entrance would have been overlooked as well. Their gray and black uniforms not only blended in with the terrain, but the night time darkness as well. However, with the thermal imaging feature of their night-vision, they stood out as bright orange and yellow human forms against the cool blues and greens of the surrounding rock.

WWEE wasn't taking any chances. The two men were armed with H&K MP5 submachine guns with silencers and laser target designators. Kim was expecting that and it was one of the many reasons she didn't want her brothers along for this mission. They had proven to be quite competent in the field so far, but they hadn't gone up against anyone quite this well armed yet. There were still assistance and rescue missions to take on before they were ready for that.

Even when Kim started, this kind of thing came up only rarely. It wasn't until they went up against Drakken to recover Professor Acari's cyber-robotic tick plans as fifteen year olds that they were in direct danger from real villains, and he tried feeding them to the sharks he kept in his Caribbean lair, not just simply shooting them.

Still, fighting their way past two armed goons wasn't the plan. There were other ways into lairs of this type. Any time somebody built an underground hideout, they had to have a way to get fresh air into them. That meant ventilation shafts and for an installation this size, they would have to be fairly large.

Kim pointed her fist into the air. There was a slight 'phut' sound as the grappler built into her suit fired a thin cable. Instead of a mechanical hook like the old unit slung to her waist utilized, this one had what looked like a tiny suction cup on the end. It struck the rock face she was aiming for and the sophisticated device inside it stuck fast, instantly bonding it on a molecular level. The cable pulled taught and she signaled Ron she was ready.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. It was funny how many times he did that since they had been doing these sorts of things. Thinking back, she realized having him holding onto her like that always seemed quite natural. Now there was the added dimension of how pleasing his touch was, much as it had been the night before when she slept like a baby in his arms.

That was only a fleeting thought. Time for business! The cable retracted back into her suit, pulling them upwards toward the hidden shaft. She grabbed onto the lip of it, letting Ron climb up her back so he could get to the grating covering it.

He pulled a small vial out of his tool belt. Normally they would use a modified version of her mother's laser scalpels or her laser lipstick to cut through it, but they didn't want to be spotted. Instead, he poured a small amount of the liquid dissolving agent onto the edges. There was a slight hissing sound and brief acrid odor as it melted through the metal. Kim grabbed one edge, Ron the other and they pulled it loose.

"KP, I'd like to point out, I didn't melt my fingers." Ron whispered with a grin.

She smiled right back at him. "Ron, quit fooling around." It came out a lot more lovingly than it used to, but she had to admit, he was right, this time he didn't end up getting the stuff all over him. Of course, this time around he knew what the stuff was and wasn't mistaking it for her nail polish.

He beamed right back at her. "I thought you liked a little foolin' around." He pulled a small cylinder out, extending it across the mouth of the shaft. Using his own grappler, he attached the end of the cable to it.

"Time and place, now move."

"Banzai." He whispered, climbing into the opening. Slowly he played out his line. Their info only went so far, so he wasn't going to bungee directly into it as he did Drakken's lair when Kim was home sick.

That turned out to be a wise choice. About thirty feet down the shaft he encountered the first barrier. The villains were actually learning!

A series of bars were attached across the shaft. They were teardrop shaped in cross-section, with the sharp edge pointing outwards. If he had jumped down the shaft, he would have been sliced up like a loaf of bread lengthwise.

He was sufficiently well hidden by that point he could use the laser. It was a time-consuming process, but he carefully caught each sharpened bar, shuttling them up to the top of the shaft so they wouldn't drop down.

Kim went down next, taking care of the next set of bars. It took them almost an hour to get all the way down into the main ventilation system. The physical barriers weren't the only things they had to deal with. Their visors gave them enough warning to know there were security beams in place, either intended to activate some other nefarious weapon or simply alert WWEE to their presence.

Dangling upside down, Kim extended the data cable of her Kimmunicator into the control box. Moments later, Wade had the beams disabled. She touched bottom first as the shaft leveled out, changing into a metal lined duct.

This was where being relatively small and light really paid off. Ron outweighed her be a good fifty pounds, but the metal skin of the passage was enough to hold even him. The same couldn't be said for the majority of the hired muscle.

"Okay, Wade, we're in." She kept the Kimmunicator clipped to her belt, relying on a throat mike.

"Take the passage to the right. That should take you to the main chamber. After that, you'll pretty much be on your own. The readings I've got haven't penetrated any deeper."

"Roger that." She dropped down onto her hands and knees, wriggling down the narrow duct. Ron was close behind.

"Ron, if you're wasting time looking at my butt…" She warned chidingly.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it wasting time." He whispered back. "Besides, from this point of view, that's about all I can see."

"Are you saying my butt looks big?"

"Just right."

"Flatterer."

He grinned to himself, but kept crawling after her. "So, what do you think?"

"I don't know what to think. That's the whole reason we're here tonight, to try and find out what they're up to."

He shook his head, despite her not being able to see him from that angle. "No, I mean about that party we got invited to."

"Ron, remember what I said about time and place?"

"Yeah, but I've got to tell them something. Come on, it's our first college party."

Kim rolled her eyes. "I'm not exactly thrilled with the prospect of going to a party. Remember what happened the last time we went to one?"

"Well, it's not going to be at anyone's house, so we don't have to worry about parents showing up and wigging out like yours did."

"No, Ron, I'm talking about the one we got invited to this time last year. Remember…_his_ house?"

"So? What are the chances the host is going to turn out to be the son of a super-villain, bent on getting revenge?"

Kim stopped and looked back at him. "Do you really want to know the answer to that question?"

"I'm just saying, KP. We've got to start fitting in somewhere."

She started crawling forward again. "Where have I heard that before?"

"Come on, Kim, it'll be fun." His whisper almost broke into a whine.

"We'll talk about this later. We're almost there."

"But…"

"I said we'll talk about it, not no we're not going and that's final. I promise, 'kay?"

Kim reached a grille. Instead of looking down on a large open chamber from above, they were looking up. Whoever laid out the large open space apparently had taken Lairs 101. There were all kinds of catwalks criss-crossing the high ceilings, as well as pipes that seemed to go nowhere. That meant plenty of places to hide. There were banks of controls, all manned by men clad in the magenta and white uniform of the World Wide Evil Empire. To top it all off, there was the usual mammoth view screen.

Ron had to stifle a giggle. They apparently weren't using the monitor at the moment and a very familiar screen-saver was playing.

"Oy." Kim growled, almost louder than she meant to. Every so often the image would change, morphing from one to another. They were all various shots of Kim her little brothers had taken over the last few years and posted on the internet.

"That's not funny, Ron. In fact it's really, really creepy if you ask me."

"Sorry, KP, that's just my reaction every time I see that shot of you with Noxzema all over your face and toothpaste dripping from your mouth."

She growled softly again. Touching a control on the side of her helmet, a small camera lens popped out, recording everything she looked at. "Do you see Alpha anywhere?" She whispered to him.

Ron shook his head. "Can't tell unless I see his uniform from the front. I see at least five of them that could be him."

Kim grunted in response. Their vantage point wasn't the best, so she crawled on down the duct. About a hundred feet further on, they came to a dead end. Ron opened one of his cargo pockets. "Okay, Rufus, buddy. You're on."

The little pink rodent crawled out of his usual hiding place and gave him a sharp salute. He squeezed through the grate and, using his big buck teeth, started unscrewing it from the wall.

They climbed out into a darkened room with a series of tables and lots of cabinets. Kim switched her visor from thermal to light intensifying as Ron went to watch the door. She spotted a pile of papers spread out on one of the tables. Since they were just on a scouting mission, that was as good a place to start as any.

Ron gave her the thumbs up signal, indicating the coast was clear, so she pulled a tiny flashlight from her belt and scanned the printouts. Her eyes came to rest on one picture in particular and she let out an involuntary yelp.

Immediately he was at her side, looking at what distressed her enough to nearly scream like that.

It was a picture of her, dressed in her teal top and black jeans, holding a laptop and her Kimmunicator to her chest as she ascended the steps into the Middleton College Science Building.

There was no question in her mind where that picture had been taken from.

Dorian Conyers.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	8. Part VIII  Cabin Fever

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part VIII - Cabin Fever**

* * *

Kim was shaking in rage, her fists straight down at her sides. "I knew there was something wrong with that guy!"

"Uh, KP, maybe you want to, uh, you know, throw a conniption a little quieter." Ron warned, scooting back to the door to make sure they hadn't been overheard. "Hey, what guy?"

She picked up the photo and held it up to her. "Hello, that's the outfit I had on last night. You know, the one you were pretending to not watch me take off when we changed for bed."

"Well, heh, I wasn't exactly paying attention to your clothes at the moment." Ron smiled sheepishly.

Normally Kim didn't mind when Ron admitted to looking at her body. In fact, she had deliberately stayed out from behind her changing screen when she got her night clothes out, partly to show off for him, partly to get used to the notion that there shouldn't be any shame between them. After all, he had seen much more than her underwear when they were on their summer road trip. That wasn't the point, however.

Kim made a sound that was half growl, half sigh. "Ron, that picture was taken last night, and look at the angle. It was taken right where that freak-a-zoid was standing. He was spying on me!"

"Okay, okay, I get it. So, what's the plan?"

"For the moment, we get outta here and get this information back to GJ."

It didn't take nearly as long to get back out into the night air. Kim used her Kimmunicator to scan the pictures and documents, carefully making sure they went back exactly the way she found them. She was glad she hadn't gone with her first inclination to rip the one picture to shreds. The rest of the pictures were of random women about Kim's age, all apparently taken on the campus. They didn't quite know what to make of it, but they recorded it none the less. Then they climbed right back into the shaft, Rufus replacing the screws in the grille. This time, knowing where they were going, they made short work of the ductwork.

Considering Kim's mood, Ron didn't even stop to consider he had a wonderful view of her backside.

Using their grapplers, they made the ascent back to the surface in mere seconds, only stopping to re-activate the security screens. Once out the top, Ron shoved the grating back in place, using a little loose dirt to disguise where he had cut through it earlier. They quietly picked their way down the mountain face, wary of the guards at the hidden 'main' entrance.

Ron tapped Kim on the shoulder. Something was starting to bug him about the mission. After all the trouble they went to breaking in the place, all they had done was copy some pictures and documents. "I thought we were trying to find out what they're up to?"

Kim attached the end of her grappler to the rock face and lowered them to the next ledge. "Isn't it obvious? They're getting ready to make a move on me, and they're using spies at the school to do their leg work."

"That just doesn't make sense. The last time, they just went after you with choppers." There wasn't anything subtle about that. They simply waited until she was alone and surrounded her with attack helicopters, capturing her with a net fired from a weapons pylon. "Why would they…"

Kim clamped a hand over his mouth, gesturing with her head at a pair of camouflaged agents patrolling nearby. Ron noted the look of concern in her eyes. The two men were only feet away from where their glider packs were hidden. What's worse, they seemed to be taking a break in the small open area they picked out as a landing zone.

She was ferociously worried they would pick up on the skid marks where Ron landed or worse, would stumble over the packs themselves, alerting WWEE to their presence and forcing them to get out of there on foot. Fortunately, none of that was readily visible in the dark without their special visors. Just so long as the patrol wasn't equipped with anything more than simple night-vision. It didn't look like it. They simply had on what looked like standard military issue Kevlar helmets and the plain reflective goggles the organization's minions always wore.

Both of them sweated it out as they sat down on a log, stretching out their feet. One of them even went so far as to start rubbing his legs.

"Better not take too long." The closer one said to his partner. "What Agent Alpha did to Agent Omega just because he went to the break room a minute too early…" He shuddered slightly.

"Yeah, that guy's getting worse than Gemini ever was, but we're safe tonight. He's still in Middleton."

"Safe? Ha, bet he has one of Gemini's ejector seats right nearby." He tapped on the communicator strapped to his wrist, reminding his partner that any of their superiors could be listening in.

With that, they hefted their sub-machineguns and headed on. Kim and Ron waited a few minutes before moving from their hiding place. Even so, both had their hearts in their throats, worried that even with the sound-dampening properties of their suits, they'd do something silly like step on a twig. Of course, that was just a silly joke from the cartoons. This was real life and the woods were full of sounds.

Kim didn't relax until she spotted the pair again quite a long ways away from them. "He's in Middleton." she repeated to no one in particular. "Guess he's picking up some more intelligence from his freak-show lackey." She snapped her pack into place. There was a certain amount of snarl still in her voice, even at a whisper.

Ron was struggling with his, actually holding it upside down. Kim turned it over and held it in place until the connectors snapped. He pulled out the control arms, but she put a restraining hand on his, shaking her head.

"We've got to hoof it, at least until we cross that ridge. If they've got more foot patrols they're likely to see us taking off."

"Got it." He let go and the controls coiled back into their receptacles.

The way was slow-going and Kim quickly realized one particular oversight in the design of her super-suit – the boots. She had grown used to the thicker tread of her newer mission gear boots and the narrow, shoe-like tread of the integrated footwear just didn't have enough purchase on the loose ground. The high-traction rubber surface was just fine inside a lair, but in the great outdoors? Not so much.

"Uh, KP, I was wondering, what exactly are you going to do when we get back?" Ron whispered once they were well away from the entrance.

She smirked. "I think Mister Conyers and I are going to have a little talk."

"You think that's wise? What are you going to do, just up and tell him you've seen that picture? What if he is working for WWEE?"

She stopped, turned around and looked him right in the eye. "By then it's not going to matter. I'm going to call in GJ and bring them down on this place. By the time I'm done with that Goth, he's going to wish he'd stuck to part-timing in a Hot Topic store." She started walking again, picking up the pace compared to earlier.

They walked in silence for some time. Every so often Kim would hold up her fist, signaling Ron to stop. At least once he spotted the patrol she had seen as well. The stealth capabilities of their Mark II super-suits were serving them well, with the power bands damped down and the material absorbing small sounds they couldn't help but make.

Ron put his lips to Kim's hood-covered ear. "This is an awful lot of security for them to just be going after you."

"Agreed." She whispered back. "There's something big, big going on here."

"Maybe we should have stuck around a little longer."

Kim shook her head. "No, the longer we stayed in there the higher the likelihood we would have been caught or forced to fight our way out of there, then they'd just abandon the whole place and we'd have to start over from scratch."

Ron simply nodded, though Kim was already looking the other way again. They spent at least another hour walking. Finally, they came to a clearing and could see they had made it over the ridge.

"Ready?" Kim pulled her control arms out, extending the wings on her pack. Even in the half light of the moonlit evening, he could see the smile on her face. Her joy at flying was overriding her tweak about the picture, at least temporarily.

"Born ready." He wished he were that confident, but at least the glider-packs would get them clear of the bad guys quicker.

Once they were in the air, they were able to see exactly how far they had come. Despite the time they had taken, they had actually covered less distance than they originally figured, just enough that the patrols were less likely to see the yellow flare of their miniature ion drives.

There was no way they were going to fly the entire hundred plus miles home in the dark. The Air National Guard was able to drop them off, but they were pretty much on their own getting home. Sophisticated navigation equipment and they heads-up displays in their helmets aside, it was just too dangerous to make that kind of trek in the dark. There were too many variables. They were too small to show up on radar so there was the risk of running into an airplane, not to mention the fact they didn't have respiration equipment for high altitude flying. Closer to the ground had it's own problems, especially considering the rugged terrain. Instead they flew about twenty miles to another clearing in the dense woods, to a small cabin. Kim pulled a key out of her belt pouch and let them into the tiny, but well appointed wilderness abode.

Ron was immediately impressed. "Coolio!"

On the outside, the cabin looked like, well, a cabin. It was built from local timber, with a thick moss roof and a heavy looking wooden door. The keyhole for the modern lock was the only visible clue it wasn't as rustic as it appeared.

Inside was a whole different story. True, it was still a one-room deal, but what a room it was. There was a small kitchen area with modern equipment, an old-fashioned claw-foot tub and a queen sized bed.

Ron's focus, of course, was on the monster-wide-screen suspended above the bed itself.

Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator. "Wade, did you upload that data to GJ?"

"Done and done. They're sending a ride to pick you up first thing in the morning. Dr. Director wants to debrief you as soon as you're back."

"You rock, Wade. Just remember to remind her, we've got class at nine, so we can't hang around too long."

"You got it. Catch ya'll tomorrow."

Kim had to smile a bit. Wade may have spent most of his short life in Middleton, but he had been born in Atlanta and his parents still spoke like southerners sometimes.

"How did you get this place?" Ron asked, sitting down on the end of the bed, fiddling with the remote he found there. Almost immediately he had the TV up and running. The channel line-up was a little different, being on satellite rather than cable, but it didn't take him long to find cartoons.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Called in a favor. Thought we'd get some 'us time' tonight."

He tore his eyes away from the _Scamper and Bitey_ cartoon. "Whoa, in the middle of a mission?"

"Mission's officially over. Remember what I said about time and place?" She sat down on his lap, straddling him with her legs as she pulled her hood off, freeing her mane of auburn red hair.

"Wait, I thought you were freaked out about that picture."

A little touch of anger flared in her eyes. "Mad, yes, freaked out, no, at least now that I know why it was I was freaking out about that guy. It was just my weirdar going off. Now that I know what he's up to, I can deal with him when the time comes." She reached up and pulled Ron's hood back. "Now your time has come. You know, I think Wade said something about debriefing."

"De…uh, KP, I wear boxers…eep." He squeaked as she reached up and pulled the zipper of her suit all the way down to its end below her naval. Before he could avert his eyes she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him, forcing him down on the bed.

"I thought you liked seeing me. Isn't that why you were peeking last night?" She smiled at him as she sat up slightly. That's when he noticed she was wearing a little something extra under the suit. Normally, it was meant to be worn directly against the skin, though he fudged and wore his boxers under it. Though there was little chance of losing his pants in the suit, he wasn't going to tempt fate that way.

Kim slipped the suit off her shoulders. The flimsy silk camisole she had on under it wasn't see-through, but it made up for it by clinging to every nook and cranny on her body.

"That's a little different than the tank and sweats you wore last night." Ron said nervously.

"Time and place, baby. Do I have to keep repeating myself?" She reached for his collar and started unzipping his suit, taking time to stroke his chest as she did so. "Last night was about me being with you because I needed to. Tonight's about fun. You know, the fun we had on our trip? The fun we can't exactly have in my room with Mom and Dad downstairs?"

"Oh!" He smiled broadly, starting to get the picture. "You called in a favor for a make-out joint."

"Right." She stood up and let the rest of her suit drop, giving him a glimpse of the matching bottoms before the cami fell into place. Then she helped him out of his pants and his suit. Climbing beside him on the bed, she propped her head up on her elbow. "So, you wanna watch cartoons or do you want to make out?

The slow moving gears on Ron's head finally clicked into place. Kim had obviously been planning this ahead of time, but only a couple hours earlier she had been in a near rage, a rage coupled to what was in fact a massive freak-out the night before. Now, all of a sudden, she was back to her sexy, let's make-out in our underwear mode, as if none of that ever happened.

Something wasn't kosher, and it wasn't the shrimp scampi he made for dinner earlier that evening either.

He was in a quandary about what to do. If Kim just wanted to kiss, then that might just be okay. They did that all the time anyway and that wouldn't feel like he was taking advantage of the situation.

Only, there they were, on a bed in a secluded cabin, him in his boxers, Kim in sexy negligee that apparently came from _Alexandria's Confession_. Right after turning eighteen, they had gone on a two week road trip, partly to see some of the sights they normally couldn't take time to see, but mostly so they would have their first real opportunity to have some real privacy. Things had progressed beyond mere kissing. Not to the ultimate conclusion, but certain points along the way had already been explored.

Given the sitch they were in, Ron was certain Kim wanted those points explored again.

Grabbing the remote, Kim shut the television off and started in on Ron's neck. Her hand caressed his chest, making small circles, sweeping wider and wider as she switched to his lips.

He yelped when her hand came to rest in a certain place. He scooted further up into the bed, leaving a confused Kim in his wake.

"KP, this isn't right."

She half crawled, half slinked up to him. "What's not right, Baby?"

"Look, Kim. Last night, when you asked me to spend the night with you, it was because you were scared, and it wasn't something you were making up, I could see it, you were really scared. But now, like this. I dunno. It kind of makes me feel like we were putting something over on your 'rents."

She sat up, looking more than slightly peeved. "Ron, yeah I'm angry, but that doesn't mean I don't get to spend time I want to with you."

"But that's just it, KP. You're angry, you're upset and I'm willing to be you're still scared. Remember what happened a few weeks after we got together? You got angry and upset and you came real close to doing something we would have both regretted."

Kim got up on her knees, getting angrier by the moment. "Great, now I set up something romantic and the thanks I get is something I'd just as soon forget? Thanks a lot." She slipped off the bed and stomped over to the kitchen area, pulling one of the chairs from the table and sitting down heavily.

Ron sat up, slouching his shoulders forward. He felt okay that he had resisted the urge to simply go with the flow, especially since that flow could have resulted in them wearing even less, but mostly he felt terrible having made Kim feel the way she was feeling just then.

Kim, for the most part, really had it together, but there were some issues she had to deal with from time to time. One was when her take-charge attitude got crossed up with her anger issues, which in turn got mixed up with her romance issues. The moment he had been referring to, they had just come off a huge blow up when Ron accidentally got a hold of some very naughty underwear of Kim's. They very nearly ended up in bed that very day. Instead it was him who threw water on that fire.

Just like he had done tonight.

He got up and went over to her. "Hey, I'm sorry."

"Why?" She asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Uh, cause I am."

She shrugged his hand off her shoulder. "No, why do they have to play on the fact I'm a girl. Did you see those pictures? All of them, pretty college girls…"

"…WHY CAN'T THEY KEEP THEIR DAMN HANDS TO THEMSELVES!" She slumped down on the table.

"Kim?"

She shook her head slowly as the tears flowed. "I'm sorry too, baby. I wanted this night to be about you and me and I'm freaking out and ruining it for both of us. I wanted this to be a chance for it to be special, if you know what I mean. Guess I should have realized, every time I try something like that, some monster has to come along and ruin it. Turns out the monster tonight is me."

He sat down across from her and put his hand on her leg. "No, KP. We both know who the monster was. He's not here now."

"I know, baby, I know. He's locked up in the state pen."

Ron grimaced. Just a month short of a year ago, he had been in Japan, while Kim remained behind in the US. A new guy at their school turned out to be the son of Aviarius, the Go City villain she helped Team Go capture. The boy had sought to get revenge on her, though why he would go to such lengths, considering she only participated in one of many dozens of captures of the fiend, they couldn't fathom. At least, that is, until they realized just how insane he was.

He kidnapped Kim and tried to use his powers and energy sapping crystal on her. That wasn't what had done the actual damage to her, despite the fact she fractured her ankle in the fight.

Cary On, or Carrion, threatened to do…horrible things to her. He never got the chance, but the threats had done their dirty work. It took months of therapy for Kim to get back to a semblance of normal, though she would likely deal with that loss of emotional innocence for the rest of her life.

That was why Ron and Kim's parents so readily agreed about him spending the night with her. Ron was an emotional anchor for her and his presence eased her mind considerably. He was her protector, her guardian angel. Carrion had even called him just that when he appeared just in time to save her.

Yes, he was her protector, and that was why he wasn't going to tell her that the villain wasn't safely locked up. There was no telling how she might react if she knew he was loose. Better for him to stay close to her at all times than to have her go to pieces seeing him in every shadow.

"Look, KP, why don't you come to bed, okay?" He took her hand, standing up and tugging on her slightly. "Tonight's just not the night. Remember, it's going to be when you're wearing white and I'm still in a tux and I get to carry you inside…if I don't bonk your head on the door frame."

That elicited a small smile and a giggle. Then she stood up and wrapped her arms around him, holding him so tightly he could hardly breath. It was at times like this he was reminded just how strong such a petite woman could be. Still, he didn't mind. That's what she needed. She may have led him here tonight thinking she needed his touch and perhaps lovemaking, but what she needed was just what he was giving her.

As Kim drifted off to sleep, her arms still locked around him tightly, all he could think of was a six foot tall blonde guy with freckles just like his and a slightly off-kilter smile.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	9. Part IX – Admissions

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part IX – Admissions **

* * *

Thursday was not a good day. Not at all. Kim's parents and brothers might have said hello or asked how she was doing as she made her way from the garage to her room. If they did, she really wasn't aware. She simply mounted the stairs to the second floor, then into her loft, carefully closing and locking first the vertical door halfway up, then closing and latching her hatch at the top. The side door had remained locked since Tuesday night when she was getting ready for bed.

When _they_ were getting ready for bed.

She sat down on the edge of her bed facing the window. A stray thought flitted through her head then. That had become _her_ side of the bed. By some unspoken agreement she had always taken the window side of a bed that for many, many years she had claim to both sides.

After sitting there for a few minutes, Kim realized she was still wearing her backpack. Carefully, calmly she took it off and set it on the floor. Everything about her was measured and calm. She was in control. She was in complete and utter control.

At least she was in complete control of herself. The world around her was another issue.

She couldn't control the school. She couldn't control Global Justice. She really couldn't control Wade and probably the very worst of all, she had absolutely no control over Ronald Eugene Stoppable.

In a silent form of defiance of that lack of control, she got up, walked around the foot of the bed and sat down on_ his_ side. Again strange, unbidden thoughts jumped to her mind. Why had he chosen that side of the bed? Was it because that's where the clock sat? Was it simply because she might have been off to one particular side the first couple times her mother put him to bed up there? Or was it just a random selection that happened to stick?

Maybe it was because of the framed pictures sitting on that nightstand. Gingerly Kim picked up the one that was front and center; their Junior Prom photo. Most everyone else had a professional shot to remember the night by. She had one made, but it wasn't with Ron. They were fortunate enough that somebody had an honest to goodness film camera at the ready, capturing the moment when they first kissed.

Outwardly Kim seemed calm, but as she looked at the picture, at the vision of a clearly younger version of Ron holding her in his arms, kissing her so tenderly, the frame started creaking alarmingly. Finally the glass protecting the photograph cracked, the gash going precisely between the two lovers.

She screamed.

All of Kim's bottled up anger and frustration suddenly erupted out of her in the form of a primal roar from deep within her. The now-broken picture frame she threw against the wall smashing it to pieces. She grabbed another picture, this one from their Senior Prom and dashed it against the wall in the same spot. Then she did the same with a picture of them as pre-teens, her wearing braces and Ron showing a piece sign.

The pictures spent, she grabbed the clock, ripping the wire out of the wall. That she threw in the direction of her desk, hitting the Cheer Regionals trophy from her Sophomore year, knocking it behind the desk. The clock bounced of the window and in some strange form of clinical detachment she wondered why the window itself did not break.

Bellowing like an enraged lioness, Kim picked up the entire round table she used as her nightstand and smashed it down on the floor. Again the detached part of her mind noted something else. There were sounds coming from her stairs. The lower door had been opened, after all, the 'lock' was more of a suggestion than anything else. Really, considering what she was doing, she should have expected somebody trying to smash open the hatch. The latch had only been installed by her after the first couple times Ron spent the night in her room.

Just thinking his name set her off to bellowing again. The crashing from the stairway stopped, but by that point it did not register with her. She found her fingers digging into her puffy blue chair like they were talons. _Oh, how appropriate! I have talons_ she thought with a sort of insane glee.

She was about to pitch the chair through her window when the chair was ripped from her fingers. Another set of arms wrapped around her and dragged her toward the bed. She struggled mightily, but none of her training would come to her. Spitting and screaming she raged at the world until her body was spent. Then she collapsed onto the bed, in too much pain to even cry.

* * *

The day didn't even start well. Even with her arms around Ron, she didn't sleep well during the night. She was embarrassed, slightly vulnerable and very upset that so many little things had added up, tearing her down from her usual citadel of capability. On top of that…despite that, Ron had once again taken it upon himself to be the arbiter of what was the right time for them. She was prepared to accept if he didn't want to go all the way that night. She loved him and she respected him. But there were other things. They had done more than just kissing and she wanted to explore those things again. Once she had experienced them, she found an even greater desire for Ron than she had before, something she would not have thought possible until it actually happened. Now she found she not only wanted, but needed that again.

As the first rays of daylight hit the windows of their borrowed cabin, a slightly snarky thought drifted through her mind. _What's a five letter word for sexual frustration? _

That made her a little angry with Ron. He had this notion that if he did make out with her, if he did the things she wanted him to do, he would enjoy them too, and in his mind that was somehow wrong, that somehow, even though she really did want him to, it was taking advantage of her because he thought the only reason she was that way was in reaction to the things that had been happening to them the past few days.

No, she wanted to because she wanted to be with Ron. She wanted that when she asked if she could use the cabin. She wanted that when they sat down with Wade and detailed their plans for the mission. She wanted that when she put the key in the lock and opened it up. Then it was Ron who shut them down and brought up all those bad feelings within her just so he could feel all noble and chivalrous.

She was about to try again in the morning, getting up early and drawing a bath in the old-fashioned tub. Certainly Ron would want to join her for some good, clean fun. That's what they called their relatively innocent showers during their vacation.

Kim was just about to strip her night-clothes off and step in when she heard the jet engines. She scrunched her eyes down hard. The turbo fans were impossible to mistake and the fact she could actually hear them meant the Global Justice hoverjet was already there, just touching down. It was more than an hour early.

Her main suit was barely zipped when there was a knock at the door. Ron was still struggling to get into his suit, so she opened the door just a crack, scowling mightily at what she saw.

"Good morning, Kimberly." Will Du said genially in the cold autumn air of the Rocky Mountains.

"What the heck are you doing here do early?" She asked, not opening the door any more than she had to.

"I'm sorry if I am interrupting anything, but Doctor Director wants to see the two of you right away."

Kim turned and looked at the bath steaming in one corner, then to Ron sitting on the bed, zipping up the ankles of his suit, his chest still bare. He had developed what some would call a 'swimmer's build. He was still very lean and his chest only slightly wider than his abdomen, but she knew he was no longer doughy soft like he used to be.

_He was so ferociously interrupting!_

"What is it, Du? Spill."

"I just told you, Kimberly. Doctor Director wants you and Mister Stoppable brought back to Middleton immediately. That is the entirety of my orders."

Kim shut the door, growling. She needed her bath, she needed some strong black coffee and she needed some Ron shine, and not particularly in that order. What she didn't need was a ride back home with that…she was too upset to even think of an appropriate insult for Agent Du. It was almost like they were still minor teens and they had been caught shacking up in a hotel room by their parents and ordered to ride home with them.

Ron was finally dressed, though he was trying to awaken Rufus. Poor guy was dead to the world usually that time of night. He slept almost as much as cats did. Giving up, he gently scooped him up and put him into one of his cargo pockets.

In case the two of them had forgotten, Du gave them a demonstration of just how fast a GJ hoverjet really was. With sonic boom abatement technology active, they made it back to Middleton inside of ten minutes. It took them longer to drive to the Air National Guard strip the night before.

Doctor Betty Director was sitting at her desk, her hands folded in front of her when they were shown in. If it were not for the eye patch and the dark blue uniform, they would have thought it was her older sister, Doctor Wilma Director, Principal of Middleton High School, sitting behind that desk. Almost every time they had met with the woman before at GJ HQ, it had been in the main control center or in one of the large briefing rooms. Neither of them could remember ever seeing her in her office.

"I am sorry if I have cut short your romantic encounter." Her voice was measured and even, as if she were trying to stay in control. The effect was scary enough Kim didn't even want to consider how she knew she had turned a mission into an overnight date. "I was handed the information you sent here early this morning. Granted, I would have brought you here sooner if certain…less competent people knew I am to be contacted immediately, no matter where I am or what I am doing, when it involves WWEE."

Kim frowned slightly. She had no idea what the woman did in her social life. Betty Director, missing eye aside, was a very attractive woman just clear of forty and it was entirely possible she had been on some kind of date herself. Then again, it was almost the end of her senior year in high school when she learned her older sister was married and had two small children.

"Let me get straight to the point. Take this as direct orders concerning your contracts. Your only job is to abide by these orders. There will be no further explanation, as it is purely on a need-to-know basis, and you do not need to know.

"In the future, you will not initiate any action against anyone you know to be affiliated with WWEE. You will not attempt to apprehend any of their members, you will not set up missions to reconnoiter their bases of operations. If you are called upon to take action against them though proper channels, you will be briefed appropriately. Until such time you are to go on as if last nights little escapade never happened."

Kim's anger started flaring. "Now wait a minute. They came after me. I've got every right…"

"No you don't, Miss Possible. Your actions have jeopardized more than a month's work and could have put some of our agent's lives at risk."

"But that picture? They're coming after me again."

"Do you even know where they got that picture? I'm surprised at you, not having Mister Load do his usual research." She touched a control on her desk and a monitor appeared on the wall. "That is Mister Conyers' website. He is a photography and arts student. While I can understand your discomfort with your unwilling inclusion in his work, do you know what may have happened if you confronted him directly? Need I remind you of the fiasco involving Miss Bonne Delia Rockwaller?

"Bonne Delia?" Ron chirped, speaking for the first time since being led in.

"That's her legal name. She once got sent to the principal's office after verbally ripping into a teacher for calling her that." Kim explained. "Okay, so I goofed. Maybe that's why 'independent' contractors need to be briefed about what's going on around them. If I had known you had an operation going with WWEE, we'd have been glad to have left well enough alone."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Kim. Not briefing you on the matter was an oversight and an error on my part, one that I will not make again in the future. From here on out, you will be called in for weekly briefings on matters that you may have some need to know, even if it is only a simple warning to butt out." She put an extra emphasis on the last.

With that, they were offered coffee (notoriously bad institutional stuff) and donuts and were sent on their way. That is, the tube transport took them directly to Middleton College, with about an hour before their first classes were to start.

Kim growled softly when she noted her car sitting in a nearby parking lot. Considering it had a 'smart key interlock,' meaning only people she authorized could start it, she really didn't want to know how they got it there. Maybe it was just as simple as getting Wade to activate it by remote.

* * *

Kim was starting to steam a little by the time her first class was over. Oddly enough, all she could think about was Ron and getting physical with him. The fact alone she was so focused on that sort of thing was enough to set her on edge. She was the one preaching 'time and place' and this was not it. That would come on their usual Friday night date. They could ride out to the bluff or they could even make an early trip up the mountain for a little getaway, this time without any of the angst that diverted him away from her.

That line of thinking really wasn't helping her. All it did was fill her mind with very vivid images from the early part of their road trip. She was frustrated that she was so…frustrated. It so wasn't like her to be that way. Somehow or another she was going to have to swallow her pride (and endure the concurrent embarrassment) of asking her Mom what she had to do with a libido that suddenly had a mind of its own.

She rounded a corner into a smaller courtyard on the campus, coming face to face with the group she was starting to call _Studentia Gothica_. Right in the middle of the crowd was Dorian Conyers. He caught sight of her immediately and gave her a slight smile, only half of his mouth curling up. He might have been perfectly innocent of what had happened with WWEE, but the sight of him smiling like that sent cold chills running down her spine.

Suddenly not caring what the strange group of students thought of her, she turned on her heels and headed back the way she had come. There was plenty of time to go the long way around and avoid that group all together.

Kim was about to step back out into the open when a dark figure barred her path. It was Dorian.

"A little birdie told me you would be looking for me. Well, you've found me." His voice was simultaneously that of an older teen and that of somebody who had been smoking for some time. There was a rough hollowness to it that somehow sounded familiar. He took a long draw from his cigarette, blowing the smoke out his nostrils.

"Just leave me alone, Conyers." She growled, trying to push past him. He stepped back in front of her, barring her progress. Even with her skills, Kim was loath to touch him. Oddly, for the first time, she noticed the small digital camera hanging around his neck. Perhaps that was how he got the shot of her two nights ago, though she hadn't seen the thing then.

He took note of her stare and took the tiny device in his fingers. "Why should I leave such a pretty, fresh face like yours alone? It belongs to the world." He snapped a couple pictures of her, grinning the whole time.

Kim pulled her Kimmunicator from her waist. "Listen, if you don't get out of my way right now, I'm calling campus security. Then maybe we can all sit down and have a talk about you putting my picture on your website without my permission."

"Like they're going to care about that. Welcome to the real world, Kim Possible. You don't have a whole bunch of draconian school regulations here. I can snap your picture all day long and you know who owns the image? Me. So long as you're not naked or something, if you're in public, you're mine to shoot." For emphasis he took a couple more shots. "Now, from what I can see, I think there's a lot of folks out there who would appreciate those naked pictures."

"Look, I'm warning you…"

"What, you're going to bust out with all that 'hwa-foo' stuff on me? Puh-leese. You think you're the only person in the world who knows how to fight like that?" He stepped aside, using a sort of fake, mocking bow as she walked past. She could hear his laughter as she put as much distance between him and her as she could without breaking out into a full run.

Kim so wished he had actually been affiliated with those villains. Then she really could have 'busted out' with her martial arts skills. She wouldn't even care that she had been told to back off of them. What were they going to do? Arrest her? Fire her? The latter wouldn't really matter to her anyway. The pittance they ended up paying her was almost insulting. It was better when she worked for GJ purely gratis. At least then she wouldn't have to file taxes on money she made, but was gobbled up with transportation expenses.

Let them fire her. Wade was working on a new transportation option that would free them once and for all from relying on the grace of others to travel around the globe. No more stinky old airplanes, no more cramped Hoverjets. Of course, there would be no more posh private jets, but that was a price she was willing to pay to have her own means of responding to the hits on her site. It would certainly feel much better to be completely her own person again, instead of being subject to orders like she had been that morning.

That afternoon, she got back to her car…_their_ car first. There was a flyer stuck in the double bladed windshield wiper and she grabbed it, almost absently crumpling it up in her hands. She hated the practice. It was a colossal waste of paper, considering almost everyone did exactly what she was about to, ball it up and throw it away. More potential litter, as many wouldn't conscientiously take it to a proper trash can.

Then she noticed none of the other cars around hers had any kind of flyers on them. Many of them were there when she noted where her car was that morning. Hesitantly, she looked at the flyer.

It was actually a hand-written note, scrawled on the back of an ad for a local eatery. She looked at it and scowled.

_Has Ronald told you who Agent Alpha is? Bet he hasn't!_

As she looked up, Ron was there, just about to give her a quick hello. She held the piece of paper in front of his face.

"What is this?"

* * *

Anne Possible held her daughter as she sat, curled up in a fetal position in the middle of her bed, shivering. The tears finally came as her father went about the process of picking up the pieces of her room. Had he not broken through the flimsy lock on her side door, she might have done significantly more damage than she did. He found the alarm clock and the trophy and was glad Wade had bulletproof armored glass installed, if for no other reason than there wouldn't be a large, specially shaped pane to replace.

Pulling out her daughter's hand, Anne wrapped hers around it. "Kim. Kimberly Anne, look at me."

She shook her head rapidly.

"Kim, please, what's wrong. We're here to help you. Just say something."

"Ron." She finally squeaked out, almost doubling over in tears.

Anne rubbed her daughter's left hand, then realized what was missing from there.

Kim hadn't taken her engagement ring off since she announced their plans to the family a couple months earlier. Now it was gone. She reached for Kim's other hand. The promise ring was gone as well. She didn't have any of her jewelry on, though it was likely the necklaces and earrings were in her box since she had been on a mission the night before.

"What is it about Ron? Is he in trouble? Is he hurt?"

"Has he done something to hurt you?" Her father asked dangerously.

Kim was sobbing so hard, she could hardly breath. "He…didn't…tell…me…the guy…who…captured me…last summer…"

"What about him?" Anne asked, squeezing her hand.

"…WAS CARRION!" She wailed, before collapsing on her side, shaking like a leaf.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	10. Part X – The Pen is Mightier?

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part X – The Pen is Mightier?**

* * *

Ron sat alone on the curb at the edge of Freshman Parking lot 4. His knees were stained with grass and his hands were rather grubby, but at least he had been successful. Small victories he could take at the moment, considering his whole world had suddenly come crashing down around him.

Every so often he would open his hand and look at the two small rings. He couldn't even slip then on the tip of his pinky for safe-keeping while he waited for Paul Resnick to come pick him up. Paul was technically a 'commuter' student like him, but since he lived walking distance from the campus, he had to go home and borrow his father's car, and that was after he got out of class. Ron got lucky at least in catching his friend via cell-phone before he went into the lecture hall.

It had been a good dream, for a while. In fact it had lasted far longer and had been far better than he ever imagined it could be. They had been together almost exactly seventeen months, where once he didn't know if they were even going to last a whole two weeks. Heck, he was amazed that he didn't wake up the day after the Prom only to discover it was only just a dream, that somehow Synthodrone 901 had knocked some silly notion into his head that he could not only date Kim Possible, but become her boyfriend and eventually her fiancé. To think that earlier that morning they had been in a bed together, with only the flimsiest of night garments separating them, that if he wanted to they could have been joined in body as they felt they were joined in mind and spirit.

Amazing how quickly one little hand written note could change all of that.

Kim looked only mildly put off at worst when she held the piece of paper up to him. At least she did until she noticed the expression on his face. In that instant she knew the truth was far more than some small oversight on his part.

He only had two options at that point. A lie, or the truth. Actually, that was not much of an option. He didn't care if it was a big state secret, once Kim asked him directly there was no way in the world he was going to lie to her. Later he would learn the meaning of 'lying by omission' but that concept was unknown to him at that point. His only choice was to tell her the whole truth. He told her how Agent Alpha's cowl had come off during their final scuffle before the acting leader of WWEE escaped. The shock at seeing the man who was probably Kim's most dangerous enemy, the man who had done the most damage to her standing there free when he was supposed to be safely locked away in the state prison, was just enough distraction for the villain to make his escape.

Kim didn't wait for him to explain why he had not told her that Cary Allen On, the son of Aviarius, the villain known as Carrion had taken her captive and had her in his power until Ron and her brothers could affect a rescue. He could see in her eyes that the only thing that mattered to her was that he had not told her. That was nothing short of betrayal. That was something just as bad, if not worse than if he had cheated on her. She just looked him straight in the eye and pulled off her two rings, throwing them at him. One, which he later realized was her emerald promise ring, bounced off his chest, while the engagement ring sailed over his shoulder, disappearing into a field of grass that was on the verge of needed trimming.

She then got in her car and calmly drove away, leaving him standing there on the sidewalk, stunned.

After a few minutes standing there motionlessly, he pulled out his Kimmunicator, called Paul and set out to find the two rings. If there was any hope that something could be salvaged from their relationship, he would need to have them. The emerald was only a few feet away, though it did take him just a bit to spot it. He really was going to have to get his astigmatism checked since it was clear his eyesight was getting slightly worse. Then again, it could have been from the tears slowly pouring down his cheeks as he searched.

He almost gave up on the diamond before he ever started. Crews were nearby, unloading the large, fast-moving mowers used almost everywhere any more. Soon the whole area would be cut nice, short and neat, and it was highly likely the soft eighteen carat gold of Kim's ring would be sliced to pieces and the small stone would be lost forever in the dirt.

That thought still didn't stop him. He got down on his hands and knees and started looking, almost a tuft of grass at a time for the tiny band of gold and carbon. Not that there was any hope of finding it.

Not that there was any hope of recovering from this. The decided when they came home from their trip they would basically tell everyone they were engaged. It just wasn't like them to keep it secret, and Ron's parents really knew about it anyhow. From that moment on, Kim hadn't taken either ring off, and even went so far as to say she wasn't taking the diamond off until it was joined by a wedding band.

Yet, only a short time before, she simply pulled both off and flung them at him. That had a note of finality to it he could not ignore. Still, fruitless as it seemed, he looked on, somehow, oddly enough, thinking the super-suit, that he still had on under his sweatshirt and cargos, was riding up on him. Or maybe it was his boxers. He couldn't quite tell and at the moment, he really didn't care. He just wanted to find that ring.

_I'm an idiot, a loser, a world-class, grade-A prime moron._

At least that's the way he felt, only, the thought kept crossing his mind, part of the reason he had kept it a secret was because he was afraid how Kim might react. She had made such good progress by then, to the point the therapist assigned to her case had fully released her and cleared her for all missions. If she knew Carrion was free, that could bring back the fear, the self-doubt, the nightmares.

It could bring back Kim involuntarily shrinking from his touch. That was just too much for him to bear, so he kept it inside, not wanting to tell her until the time was right and until he had some answers himself.

The first moment he thought it was safe to leave Kim's side, Ron found his way into Global Justice headquarters, demanding to know why they had not been told Carrion was on the loose. He almost didn't realize his mistake before it was too late. The only person at GJ who knew the whole truth was the psychiatrist who treated Kim. Those record were sealed, both by organizational directive and by law. The doctor would only divulge details if a life were at stake, and so far, that had not happened.

When Carrion was arrested, it was for kidnapping and simple assault. That was because Kim left the detail of what else he had threatened to do, about the little kiss he gave her on her neck. That she kept to herself and that, in its own time, had served her well, significantly reducing the amount of time she had to spend in court when he was convicted.

Doctor Director became very curious as to why Ron was so interested in what appeared to be a minor villain they had taken down. He backed down from his query so fast, he never even detailed how he knew he was out, or pressed for exactly how he got out in the first place.

As he puzzled out how and when he would tell Kim, the days stretched into weeks, and then into months before he realized he was trapped, that by then he couldn't tell her without something like that actually happening. In hindsight, he realized he would have been better off telling her and taking the chance she would end up back in some therapy than what was happening now. That she would have to go to some kind of counseling now, there was little doubt.

That was the length and breadth of how badly he had screwed up. What he intended to prevent had happened anyway, magnified perhaps tenfold by his stupidity.

It was still sinking in to him that fourteen years together, almost a year and a half of that spent as a couple, was actually over. The wedding was not only off, but how could their friendship survive this. That was always what he was afraid of most about starting a romantic relationship with Kim. If something happened to that, it would tear down their friendship right along with it. Crash and burn, baby, crash and burn.

_But what will that do to our friendship_? He once asked Steve Barkin. All along that was more important to him than all the kissing, touching and other stuff they had done since getting together, that was only secondary to him. What was more important…what was most important was their relationship and he loved her so much, so intensely that it didn't matter if they were friends or lovers, it was them being together that counted.

Rufus was skittering around nearby, adding his weaker eyes to the hunt. The lawn mowers were getting closer and closer. Soon he would have to abandon his search and watch helplessly as the hidden bauble was torn to shreds just like the dream of his life with Kim was.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it. It wasn't in the grass at all, but sitting in a pile of cocoa mulch, clearly visible if you actually looked right at it.

The moment of slight joy he felt at the discovery was immediately lost in a fresh wave of guilt and sadness. He went back to the curb and sank down on his butt, waiting for his friend. There was a sudden pain in his gut as he realized Kim might not have even made it home safely. Normally she kept so much inside her, but something like this might be enough to finally break the dam. On top of the guilt he was already feeling, he added the notion that she might have been physically hurt because he let her get away without talking further.

The rings in his hand told him talk was out of the question.

He spotted the Resnick's old blue Century pulling into the lot at the far end. Standing up, he shoved the two rings deep into his pants pocket. About that moment he spotted another car pulling into the closer ramp…

…a bronze Jaguar S-type.

That meant only one thing to him. The night he picked up Kim for the first real, official, non-moodulator influenced, non-last-minute seeming rebound at the dance date, Kim's father sat him down for a little fam to Ron talk.

_I don't ever want to see her hurt. Now I don't mean if you make her cry or the two of you have a fight or something like that. I mean if you hurt her, I mean really, really hurt her then I'm going to be the first of many S O Bs you will be answering too. Kimmie-cub is one of the strongest women I have ever known, but under all that she is really a shy, emotional little girl. Try to remember that. _

All he could think of was that he had hurt her enough to make her rip her rings off and walk away from him without a word. Somehow he knew deep down inside what must have happened when she got home.

Right then, James Possible was precisely the last person on Earth he wanted to see.

Ducking between some of the other parked cars, he headed towards Paul, popping up at last and rapping on the window. The power lock snapped open and he ducked inside. The car may have been an 'old people's car' with bad paint, no CD player and a headliner that was starting to droop, but it had the largest V-6 that came in the 89 model, so they almost burned front-wheel-drive rubber leaving the lot.

"What's the deal, Ron? I thought you always rode home with Kim anyway." Paul asked as he headed for the expressway. It was a longer way around, but quicker to take the highway than to cut directly through the city.

"I screwed up." He muttered, thinking of a much harsher word than 'screwed.' "There was something I didn't tell her because I thought I was protecting her from it, then she found out." When it was safe, he pulled the rings out of his pocket and showed it to Paul.

"Ouch. Not good."

"Yeah, major not good." Ron looked around as they got off the expressway. "Uh, where are you going? My house is the next exit."

"Listen, Ron. You've got, what, fourteen or fifteen years of history with Kim?"

"Yeah, fourteen."

"And you think she's going to cut it off because you did something boneheaded?"

Ron just held the rings up again for emphasis.

"Come on, Ron. How many times do you think women have done that trick? It's their favorite drama princess moment. Yank the ring off, storm off. It's a woman thing."

"So, then explain to me why we're heading straight for her house and not for mine?"

"Because you're going to talk to her."

"Paul, you're not getting something. That Jag pulling into the lot the same time you were? That was her Dad. If something's happened to Kim, he's gonna…"

"Gonna what, Ron? I've heard the two of you talking about him. If something's wrong with Kim, something bad enough that she's thinking of ending things with you, I don't think he's out to hurt you, I think he's out to find out if you're okay first off. I bet he's just as worried about you as he is for his daughter. As long as you've been around, you're not just his daughter's fiancé, you're his son. Sure, I bet he's pissed at you, but the worry outweighs that."

Ron frowned. "You sure about that? Cause, first time we ever went on a sort of real date, he said he was going to put me in a black hole if I didn't make Kim happy."

Paul shook his head slowly. "Man, you've got to take some astronomy classes or something. We don't have a spacecraft that has any hope of reaching another star in our lifetime, let alone reach a black hole. They're that far away. If he's been serious about doing you harm, he'd have leaned on a shotgun or an axe or something that can do real harm. Take it from me. He loves you. Oh, and by the way, even if you've hurt her, Kim loves you. Aliens in space can see that."

"I hope she still does." They pulled up in front of the house. The last time Ron felt this much dread at going into a place that was as much his home as the one he grew up in was the night he picked Kim up for that first date. Even in broad daylight the house took on an almost sinister air.

Was he ready for this?

Paul put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Come on, I've got your back."

* * *

Dorian Conyers didn't have to say anything when he walked away from the other Goth youths he hung around with. They didn't put much stock in the pleasantries the norms exchanged. He simply walked away, his stride quick and confident. He pulled up some images on his little camera and smiled that wicked half smile of his.

The first was of Kim Possible standing right in front of Ron. It looked like she was throwing something at him. The next image was of Ron, on his hands and knees looking for something.

The smile spread into a full grin. The teeth seemed perfect, though he knew some of them were implants. Well, that's what happens when you're hit in the jaw full force by a bo-staff swung like a baseball bat.

He let himself into the small, off-campus apartment he was renting, immediately heading for the bathroom. The first thing he did was grab a toothbrush and start scrubbing his entire mouth. The cigarette taste was completely revolting and he hoped beyond hope the nicotine wasn't taking hold in his system. The last thing he wanted to do was get hooked on the damned things. He brushed his teeth twice, then gargled.

Reaching up, he tugged on the mop of spiky black hair. It came away, revealing more hair, only it was not black, but the color of Nebraska corn. Wetting a rag with some fluid in a bottle, he set to removing the black eye and face paint, revealing the freckles on his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose. Lastly, he took the black contacts out of his eyes, revealing his natural, chocolate brown eyes.

After a quick shower, he got out his real clothes. Well, at least they were real for the time being. They served his purpose, at least until he could once again don the dark blue jumpsuit with the stylized red feathers and the soft, downy fringe around the neck. That day would come soon. For now, he simply pulled on the magenta and white uniform, pulling the cowl over his head.

He zipped up the front, joining what looked like the letter A, but was instead the Greek letter Alpha.

Everything was now going according to Carrion's plans, but there was still much work to do.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	11. Part XI  The Intensity of Feeling

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XI - The Intensity of Feeling**

* * *

Kim's eyes snapped open from a dreamless sleep. Well, at least that was what it seemed like. Even just awakening, she was aware that the human mind almost always dreamed while sleeping and it was only because the events of that dream had remained in her subconscious instead of a quickly fading real memory. 

Then too, she almost never recalled dreaming when she had taken sleeping medicine. Considering it was about four in the morning, she pretty much figured that had been the case. A while back, she was troubled with nightmares and her doctor prescribed a mild sleeping aid. That did help at the time, though she was a little uncomfortable taking them.

Something was wrong with the clock. Some of the numbers were brighter than others and the whole display looked slightly askew.

Reaching up above her bed, she turned on the light and realized why the clock looked funny. The plastic face of it was cracked, with a small section missing, allowing the numbers underneath to glow more brightly. Not only that, but it was at the wrong height.

The clock was no longer sitting on the low, round nightstand that had been her bed's constant companion for over five years. In it's place was one of the end tables from the family room. What's worse was that the clock sat alone on that table. There should have been a trio of photographs in simple frames there.

RON!

Kim's right hand grabbed her left ring finger. There was nothing there save for the tiny callous that had been forming since she started wearing a ring on that finger last February. Everything that happened the day before (?) came back to her in a rush. The foul mood she was in because Ron hadn't done his 'manly duties,' his admission that he withheld the identity of Alpha from her and her subsequent melt-down.

She sat down on the bed again, shivering despite the comfortable temperature of her room.

_What had she done?_

In the 'light of day' (despite it still being quite dark out) everything but that one admission seemed so trivial. Even what Ron had done himself, while something they needed to have a very long, very serious talk about, wasn't something that deserved what she did. Instead, in a moment of pure rage, she turned into something she thought herself incapable of. She turned into Queen Bitch, with her Drama Generator set on high.

Kim sat in the middle of her bed crying. This time it wasn't the uncontrollable wailing she had done in her mother's arms while she choked out a kind of explanation. It wasn't the meager whimpering she had done when she left and came back with the medicine to help her sleep. The memory of having smashed all her pictures and the table it sat on filled her with deep shame.

None of that, however, compared to the shame of what she had done to Ron. In taking her rings off and hurling them at her, she had, in effect, ripped his heart right out of his chest and thrown it on the ground. As if the image were recorded in her mind in high definition video, she could see one of the rings hitting his chest, the other sailing over his shoulder into the high grass. She had taken the symbols of what was most dear to both of them and had literally thrown it in his face.

All for what? Because Ron was uncomfortable with some minor sexual acts? What in heaven's name was she even thinking? What right did she have to expect him to perform when he had reservations, without at least talking them out? She thought he was being all high and mighty, but they had always told each other they would never pressure each other that way. Instead, she was only thinking about her own pleasure, about her own needs, not about his. Weren't those things always supposed to be for both of them?

Slowly her mind worked through those things. She was the one in the wrong, not in the asking, not in the wanting, not in the need, but in the fact she blamed him afterwards. If he had been the one to want it and she was hesitant, that would have been the end of the matter. In his mind it was always clear, they must both be ready, whether it was one of the bases they had already covered or beyond. The fact they had explored certain kinds of physical love before did not mean they were always ready to go there again at any time, and being honest with herself, she had to admit he was kind of right at the time.

Then her mind drifted over to the thing that had taken all of her frustration, all of the fear she had been feeling the last couple days and set her off on the rampage that destroyed part of her room. Her grief morphed once more into anger. Of all the enemies she had faced in her short life, Carrion was the one who had done more harm to her psyche than anyone. No whack schemes of Drakken's, no pitched battles with Shego, no desperate fights with the likes of Monkey Fist had left her with the nightmares and the waking fears had done as much lasting harm to her as that…thing had.

Why didn't he tell her?

Three months had passed since she was rescued from WWEE and Agent Alpha. For three months Ron had been keeping the simple fact that the man who had her in his power was the same one who had threatened her with the single most horrible thing she had ever faced. For three months he had been free and she didn't even know it.

What if he had tried something else during that time? What if he had done something to her while she was unconscious?

That thought alone simmered in her mind a few minutes. She almost didn't make it to her small waste can before she threw up. There wasn't much in her stomach, since she hadn't had anything to eat since lunch the day before, but what little there was came up violently.

Anger and rage again started replacing the sorrow she was feeling. Only this time she didn't have the energy to once again start wrecking her room. She sank down onto the floor, halfway into a fetal position and started crying all over again.

It felt like betrayal, betrayal of the worst kind, coming from somebody she loved, somebody who loved her…

…somebody who would clearly lay down his life for her in an instant.

Pulling up her nightshirt, she dabbed at her eyes. That was when she realized she was wearing Ron's jersey. Almost involuntarily she pulled the collar up over her face and breathed deeply. The shirt smelled of detergent and her own sweat, but the 'Ron-scent' would never completely leave the garment. Even in her sorrow and anger, that helped to settle her down a little.

It didn't help to stem her tears, though.

She tried to make herself think logically. The last time she was held captive, she was knocked unconscious with some kind of soporific. Carrion was not alone with her then, he was in the company of the other agents of WWEE, acting as their leader. There was some hope that he would not have had the opportunity to abuse her then, especially since she was being used to barter for the release of Gemini. There was also the depth of Carrion's evil. The revenge he wanted on her, while psychotic, was the kind where he would want her to be aware of the cruelty he could commit on her person. She would now have to see her doctor to confirm nothing had happened, but at least she felt a bit more at ease about that aspect of the situation.

There was a slight knock at her hatch. In the partial light of the lamp over her bed, she noted the latch had been removed. While she hesitated, it slowly opened. Her Mom climbed into the room carrying a small tray with a glass of water. She set them down on the edge of the opening and went over to her, sitting down in front of her.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked calmly.

Kim glanced over at the waste basket sitting just off to the side. "No." She said flatly. She looked into her mother's blue eyes for a long time, hoping to find some kind of answers there. Nothing coherent was there, except for the obvious look of love and concern etched there.

"Mom, what have I done?"

Anne frowned deeply. "From the looks of things, you did what you had to do."

"Huh?"

She shrugged. "You obviously have decided things can't go on like they have been. I guess that's what happens."

"Mom?"

"Well, if you consider all the horrible things Ron has done to you. Take for instance that time he outright lied about you and that boy on the football team. Or how he ignored you when the other girls started noticing him with his new haircut, or when he took advantage of that job you got for him at Bueno Nacho. What kind of friend is he, really?"

Kim looked at her mother in open shock. "What do those things have to do with anything? We got past all of that. I've forgiven him for them and he's forgiven me for my part too."

"Yes…yes you have, and so has he." She said after a few moments. Then she leaned forward and too Kim's left hand. "Then why did you break up with him?" She held onto her daughter's hand by her bare ring finger.

"I didn't…I…"

Anne let go. "Taking an engagement ring off and throwing it at him looks a whole lot like breaking up to me."

"Mom, I didn't mean to…I mean…I don't, I…" The tears started again. "I was just so angry with him."

She nodded, taking both her child's hands and holding them gently. "Kim, I wish I could tell you that everything is okay, that you can go right to him and everything will be right, but you've done something to him that's hurt him as deeply as what that monster did to you."

Kim shook her head, the tears flowing even faster. "No, I didn't mean that…No!" She got up suddenly, hunting the floor for her clothes. She had to get to him, to apologize, to make everything right again.

"Kimmie, please sit down." Anne said softly, divining what her daughter was up to.

"I can't, I've got to go find him."

"Kim, it's okay. Ron came here straight from school. You were already asleep by then, and the stuff I gave you knocked you out pretty good. It was stronger than those pills you took last winter. He still sat right outside your door half the night, hoping you would wake up."

"Where is he?"

Anne bit her lip. "He is downstairs in his room. Some time after midnight I made him go down there to get some rest himself. He wasn't in real good shape by that time. He hadn't had a shower in a couple days and he was even still wearing that battle-outfit of his under his street clothes." She stood up and barred Kim's path as she started toward the hatch.

"I've got to go to him, I've got to apologize."

"All in good time, honey. Sit down, we've got some things we need to talk about first."

Reluctantly she obeyed, mostly because she knew the only way she would get past the older woman was by force and that was not going to happen. She sat back down in the middle of her bad and her mother came over and sat down beside her.

"Tell me something. Is this issue about him not telling you the only thing that is going on between the two of you?"

Slowly Kim shook her head.

Anne just looked at her child with a neutral expression. "Be honest with me. When the two of you went away…when you came back, were you still a virgin?"

"Mom!"

"Kim, please, just answer the question."

Kim was sure she was turning just as red as the old hockey shirt she was wearing. "Yes…technically."

She raised an eyebrow. "Technically?"

"Well, er, technically in the sense we haven't made love."

"But you've done other things?"

Kim nodded slowly. "The second night we, uh, went a little further than we have before. We also saw each other naked for the first time, officially."

"And?"

"Well, we took a shower together a couple times too."

Anne nodded slowly. "So, in hindsight, do you think you were ready for that?"

Kim let her head fall back to her pillow. "Really, yeah, I do. I mean, it seemed so right then, it was…wonderful. I'm not ashamed of it, or anything, if that's what you're trying to get at."

"Kimmie, I pretty much assumed that was the case. The other stuff that happened, well, that was just more mission stuff, but there was definitely something different about the two of you afterwards and I pretty much figured you two had either started making love or something close to it. Honey, part of being ready for things like that is dealing with how it makes you feel. I know the two of you love each other and I'm not trying to say it was wrong for you two show it that way, but you have irreversibly changed the way the two of you see each other.

"Back when you started dating, you went overnight from a shy little girl who only rarely had kissed a boy to doing some making out that made even me blush. You two were like kids in a candy store with your parent's platinum card. When you realized he meant more to you than just your best friend, that altered your perception of him. When was the last time you looked at him and saw a random headed little goofball?"

"He's always been that way."

"Yes, but it used to bother you. You would tell him to 'get his head in the game' and 'quit fooling around' all the time."

Kim sat up on her elbows. "I still do that."

"You do, sometimes, but now it's become a term of endearment. What I'm saying is, taking your physical love to another level has taken how you feel about each other to a new level as well. You love him and now that you, well, I'll just assume you do things for each other and leave it at that, but that has made your feelings for each other even more intense. Couple that with some of the problems you have had outside of the relationship and it ups the ante even further.

"Now Ron's done something that hurt you. There's no way to sugarcoat it. What he did was wrong, even though in his head he thought he was doing the right thing."

"What do you mean." Kim sat fully up again.

"He had a very long talk with your father and I last night when he got here. James was livid with him, but at the same time he was worried sick as well. Ron was very forthright with his explanations. He was afraid of how you would react if you knew that thing was free. He saw some things in you the last time that scared him and, well, there were some selfish reasons involved there too. He was frightened you would go into some kind of shell and he would lose you, losing the ability to be with you. Then I sent James out of the room and asked him some of the same things I just asked you. He had a lot harder time talking about it, but he pretty much said the same thing as you, eventually."

Kim pulled her knees up to her chest. "Mom, Ron actually told you that we…"

Anne shook her head, smiling softly. "Actually, he used even more general terms than you did, and he left out the part about the two of you seeing each other naked and the shower thing. Yes, he was pretty freaked out about it, but I got the drift."

Kim got up and started pacing the floor. "Mom, I've got to…" She gripped her finger. "Why did I throw my rings at him. Now I bet they're gone!" The tears were about to start again.

Anne put out a restraining hand. "Kimmie, relax. Ron found them. He's got them with him. Just let him get a good night's sleep in. I don't think the two of you should go to your classes, unless you want to, but I think you'd be better off spending some time working this out."

Glancing at the open hatchway, the image of Ron, lying awake on the bed he spent almost the entire summer filling her mind, Kim made a decision. "I'm going to him now. I've got to make this right. I don't care any more that he didn't tell me. I love him and I've got to know if he still loves me." Before her mother could get up from her seat on the bed, she started down the stairs. She didn't know what awaited her, whether the anger between them would start all over again, whether he would simply keep the rings and tell her it was over, whether he would forgive her and put it all behind them or whether they would end up making love in that room. What happened didn't matter, as long as she went to him to try and put what they had back together.

She got to the door and tried the knob. It was locked, though that didn't surprise her. Gently she knocked. "Ron?"

Silence was the only response. She blinked back fresh tears. "Ron, are you awake? Ron, Honey, please. We need to talk. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to throw my rings at you."

She stood there a few minutes more, crying freely, hoping for some kind of response. Either him slowly waking and saying silly things as he did so. Still there was no sound save for the quiet hum of the air conditioning.

The lock wasn't hard to defeat. It wasn't meant as security, only to indicate the person on the other side of the door wanted privacy. All she had to do was put her thumbnail in the center of the knob and turn the key slot. She opened the door and stepped inside.

The bed was a rumpled mess. Ron's sweatshirt and cargo pants were sitting on the floor, wadded up. Sitting in the middle of his pants was a shivering Rufus. He was holding Ron's Kimmunicator.

Ron was gone, and so was his super-suit. The only other thing in the room was a sheet of paper he had taken from his backpack. On it was scribbled a name.

Dorian Conyers.

The first three letters of each name were circled. She thought that odd for a moment, that perhaps he might go by Dorcon with his friends. Then she gasped.

Reverse the two and you got condor. Carrion's father, Aviarius had a pet condor that he rode into battle and Carrion's own battle suit had the stylized wings of the giant bird on it.

That's why the Goth freaked her out so badly. She had recognized him subconsciously!

Dorian Conyers was Carrion!

And a voice in her head told her what she didn't want to hear...

...Ron was going after him!

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	12. Part XII – The Spirit of Vengeance

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XII – The Spirit of Vengeance **

* * *

Ron lay on the bed, facing the wrong way, his head hanging off the foot. He started up at the neatly trimmed joint between the ceiling and the wall, recalling the day early last summer when Kim and her Mom painted the room right after he moved into it. There was nothing quite like those warm, fun days living here. Sure, he did it to help his Dad out, but having the opportunity to live in the same house as Kim was nothing short of a miracle for him. How many guys got to do that with their teenage girlfriends?

The two gold rings were hanging from a stainless steel necklace Mrs. Dr. P. found for him. That was safer than keeping them in his pocket until he knew whether Kim would accept them back. Would she? Paul seemed to think so. Kim's Mom seemed to think so. Heck, even her Dad did too. He just wished his own confidence was so high. The sight of her yanking that first ring off her finger was almost like a physical kick in the gut to him. A slap to his face, Kim running away crying or both he could have expected. The finality of her act was just so brutal, so wrenching. That she walked away with utterly no expression on her face and drove off still dominated his mind's eye.

He had a really scary moment when James Possible came home from looking for him. He was still circling the campus, alternately calling Ron's house and his own home, just in case he showed up at either place. Still, it was Anne who called him home when he came in with Paul.

Several times in the past Ron had been in a similar position, waiting for the righteous wrath of Kim's Dad to come down on him, and even though, in almost every case, the elder Possible ended up surprising him. Only this time, he had clearly done something so wrong, so horrible that Kim would do something as unthinkable as breaking up with him.

It only got worse when Anne detailed what had happened after Kim came home. The photos from the smashed frames were still sitting on the kitchen table, somehow having been spared the worst of the broken glass and wood that once housed them. Thinking about her flying into such a rage made him physically ill. Knowing how her Dad must be feeling about that time made things even worse. The reality that the man was so angry with him made his whole gut bind up in knots and go cold.

Then his car pulled up in the driveway. Ron couldn't see it from his vantage point in the kitchen, but the sound was unmistakable, or at least it was in his guilt and fear riddled mind. Once before, when he thought he was going to be in trouble for Kim getting drunk at a party, he had to steel himself, to constantly remind himself to take it like a man. He didn't even have that level of confidence any more. It Paul hadn't been sitting nearby he knew he would have made a break for the kitchen door.

Logically, what was Kim's Dad going to do to him? The punishments he doled out were always just that. He had never physically raised a hand on any of his children. Then there was the fact that Ron now stood his height. His shoulders were not nearly so broad as the older man, but it just seemed he shouldn't have been able to intimidate him so much.

Ron's heart still nearly stopped when he appeared in the open door of the kitchen. The expression on his face was of anger mixed with fear, yet the first words out of his mouth were, "What happened, Ronald?"

The heart that had almost given up the ghost a moment before suddenly broke when he heard the concern in that voice. He wasn't their to brow-beat Ron, to grab him and throw him into a space capsule or to even pound him into the tile floor. Both his children were hurt, were in pain and he wanted to know why and what he could do to help. Here was the source, the foundation of the strength that Kim had. There was love and support at every turn.

Without further hesitation, he spilled his guts. He told them everything, from the moment he learned who Kim's captor was, why he didn't tell her then and why he finally found himself trapped and unable to tell her. Yes, they made it clear to him that what he did was wrong, but they saw it as a mistake, not an evil.

Then Kim's Mom got him to talk about things they had done. He had to force himself to think he was just speaking to a doctor then, not Kim's mother. Sensing she already knew the gist of it, he told her, though he had no idea what such intimate details of their love life had to do with his horrible error in judgment.

Later, Anne chased him downstairs, threatening to drag him into the bathroom and bathe him herself. She offered him a mild sedative to help him sleep as well, but he didn't want to be drugged and he needed some time to think anyway. At that moment, lying on the bed or sitting against her upstairs door were no different from each other.

How could he have been so stupid? Whether he thought she needed it or not, Kim did not want 'protection.' She wanted to be in charge of every aspect of her life and all he had done was take that away from her. On top of that, he really had failed to protect her after all. His fear that she would see Carrion in every shadow, in every face was happening anyway, even if she believed he was still in the state prison.

If he really wanted to protect her, he would have told her right then and there. That would have armed her with the best weapon in her arsenal; herself. When it came time for physical battle, Kim could and would take care of herself. After all, she still beat him three out of four falls every time they sparred. Maybe one day if he mastered his Monkey Kung-Fu he could beat her, but she was still strong and skilled. Failing to tell her was setting her up to be trapped. The only reason Carrion got her the first time was because she thought he was a friend. Until that day, Kim was the type of person to live in two different worlds, world that never seemed to mix. The villains lived in one, the rest of the human race in the other. With the exception of Bonnie, she seemed to always trust the 'normal' people around her.

That bastard ripped that innocence away from her.

Ron noticed the Goth kids the first day of college. Really, he didn't pay them much heed. They weren't the type of people he would hang around with, but in general he could respect some of what they were about. Their looks weren't calculated so much to be scary but to differentiate themselves from 'norms' like him. There was also the element that their appearance was meant to tick off less tolerant conformists. Ron himself was a kind on non-conformist, so therein lay his moderate respect for them. The only thing he found truly reprehensible about them was the smoking.

He had never knowingly seen this Dorian guy. Maybe he had, but there was no way for him to pick him out. That was the irony of the gothic culture. The more they tried to break away from one conformity, the more they slipped into another. A lot of them were merely just kids trying to find a place to fit in, copying something they saw in places like that wannabe-goth headquarters store at the mall. Ron like the place himself, though it was more because of all the funny t-shirts the place sold.

Why would Kim single that one guy out, though? He pulled out his Kimmunicator and linked to the master data-base. Kim didn't put the file Wade gave her in the personal section, so he easily pulled it up.

He nearly dropped the device when the picture appeared. Ron knew how to create a disguise and that allowed him to see through them sometimes. He knew makeup when he saw it, as well as the fake hair. It was the smile, though, that he instantly recognized.

There was no doubt he was looking at a picture of a heavily made up Cary Allen On.

Ron noticed the name. At first glance, it just sounded like one of those names kids were saddled with by their parent that would lead them down a road of trying to find acceptance in some alternative culture. Then, realizing who he was looking at, he saw it for what it was. Just to confirm it, he wrote the name out on a piece of paper. There, with the letters circled, it was not just a clue, it was a billboard.

It came as a hammer blow. His failure was complete! Kim's worst enemy, her nightmare had done exactly what he wanted to prevent. He had been right there, in striking distance from Kim now for months. If he had tried something, she would not have even known it was coming and it would be his fault. He was supposed to have her back and he screwed that up, royally.

Yes, he was at fault, but he was not the only one to blame. None of this would have ever happened if that piece of human garbage had never come into Kim's life…into their lives. That filth had taken the strongest person Ron knew and reduced her to a fearful little girl. The bullies in Pre-K couldn't do that. Bonnie and all her bitterness couldn't do that. Shego…Sherry, for all her taunts had only managed to enrage Kim. Carrion, on the other hand, had managed to break her down. He was the one who started this mess. He was the one who visited real evil on them. He was the one who had Kim's rings hanging around his neck instead of resting on her fingers. If not for him, he could have easily done so much more than simply hold Kim in his arms that night in the cabin.

There was no way for Ron to take back what he had done, but it was clear now it was not an act of evil, it was merely a mistake. A bad mistake, yes, but not evil. Where he sought to protect, Carrion sought to destroy.

He found himself standing in the darkened room. His fists clenched and unclenched as anger slowly turned to rage. A quiet sound in his heart started growing. It was a small, squeaking, hooting sound at first, but it started to become a howling. His heart was beating faster and he could feel the pounding of fists on his chest. If his body had not been so rigid he would have been pounding his own chest at that moment. If his teeth were not clenched so hard they were almost splintering he would have been howling along with them.

Ron didn't realize consciously that he stepped out of his boxers. Purely on instinct he selected the greatest weapon he had at his disposal. Like an automaton he pulled his black super-suit on, zipping it shut. He pulled on the dark gray boots, feeling the material of the leggings bonding with it. The same happened as he first pulled on the suit gloves. The dark yellow bands started glowing softly as the suit came to life.

The conscious, logical part of his mind was still functioning. Selecting the proper controls, he damped down the glow, making the stripes turn black. He also de-activated the suit's communications array, setting it for full stealth mode. Finally, he flipped the hood up. There was nothing he could do about his internal tracking chip. Sure, he could tell Wade to shut it off, but that would alert them to his intentions.

This he must do alone. He pulled the front of the hood up, making it resemble a mask. Yamanuchi may have diverted his training from making him a full ninja, but he still had many of their skills. He may not have had the Lotus Blade, but there were other ways he could deal with his target. He caught sight of himself in the dresser mirror. With the suit turned solid black, he looked like a high-tech ninja.

He could have easily made it out of the house through the front door, but that might alert the family. There was no doubt in his mind that at least Kim's Mom was up and about, probably ready to talk to her daughter as soon as she was awake. He was not about to chance having her run into a ninja in the middle of the night.

A small weight landed on his shoulder. He reached up and gently grabbed Rufus, setting him down on the bed. "Not tonight, little buddy. This is something I have to do alone. I don't want you being a part of this."

Rufus sat there, chattering, utter distress evident on his face.

"Listen to me very carefully, Rufus. I don't want you or anybody else coming after me. Don't warn Kim or her parents, do you understand? I don't want them mixed up in this any more. It ends tonight, no matter what happens."

The little naked mole rat just curled up into a ball, nodding helplessly. He instinctively knew what his human was about to do.

Ron went out the window, carefully closing it. Opened from the inside, it would not set off the security systems, so Wade would not be alerted to it. Even if he looked at the sensor logs, it would appear Ron had only opened it to get some fresh air. It was a cool, pleasant night and sometimes it felt good to let some of that in, no matter how good the ventilation system in the house was.

He hit the ground running. Even though the moon was out, he would know this way blindfolded. The trail was not entirely visible, but he knew how to move between the hedges of the neighborhood. He knew exactly what section of the woods would lead him to where he was going. Even a couple years ago, the pace he set would have left him winded, but now he moved with speed and grace. This was much like the Dragon Course at Yamanuchi, only easier as he was only racing against himself, not the other students. His heart beat only as fast as it needed to fuel his body, his breath remained regular. He cleared one fence as if it were nothing more than a hurdle at the high school track. The next he vaulted, landing in a dead run. He covered the mile in just a few short minutes.

Almost like a cat he ascended the tree, taking every other rung as he climbed the ladder of boards nailed into it. Moments later he was standing beside the couch his Dad had laboriously lifted up into the treehouse as it was being built. As if it were a sack of feathers, he shoved it aside. There he found a taped up box.

Ripping into it, he started selecting certain items. The gloves, the belt, a few other gadgets. Once he would have considered putting on the whole costume, but tonight he only wanted what could be considered weapons. Pulling the gloves on, he extended the razor sharp claws, flexing them. Confident he was now ready, he simply dropped through the hole in the floor, landing on the ground in a crouch before running on.

The afternoon before, Ron wouldn't have considered running the distance from the school parking lot to their homes, yet now he was running on another kind of energy. He covered the miles running steadily, moving so swiftly and silently that even his old master Sensei would have been impressed. Even if somebody were to look directly at him as he sprinted the distance, all they would have seen was a fleeting shadow.

A shadow with glowing blue eyes.

* * *

The apartment complex was only a couple blocks from the campus. It had only been built in the last decade, but it already looked sort of shabby. For one thing, the construction was, at best, of minimal quality. Then too, most of the residents were only there for a year or two. The neighbors called the place a 'kiddie condo' since it mostly housed students who had just enough resources to live off campus, but not much else. From time to time it was home to wild parties, sometimes to the point the authorities would be called, but for the most part, it was simply quiet.

There wasn't anything going on at that early hour of the morning, and if any of the students were actually awake at that hour, they most likely were spending their time studying or participating in other activities that did not lend themselves to witnessing the hooded ninja dropping from the rooftop onto a tiny balcony.

The sliding glass door responded instantly to his deft touch. Some of the tools he was using were in reality only replicas of 60s TV show props, but they still functioned when properly applied. The apartment was apparently deserted. Ron hoped he would find his quarry there, catching him unaware, but the single bed remained made. In fact, the place looked more like a showroom than where somebody actually lived. The only indication that anyone actually used the place was the bathroom, and the disorganized pile of makeup products sitting there.

Including the black wig.

The goth clothing was sitting in a pile on the floor, telling him Carrion had removed his disguise. That told him he was either about to make his move, or had returned to WWEE. He suspected the latter.

Ron almost smacked his forehead when he remembered what the guards near the mountaintop had said. Agent Alpha was in Middleton! Why didn't he make the connection then? Something big was up, something that needed his attention.

He pulled the mask down off his mouth and picked up the phone in the kitchen. There was a dial tone, so it was indeed hooked up. From memory, he dialed a number.

"Hi, my name's Ron Stoppable…yes…No, Stoppable. I'm part of Team Possible…yes, I work with Kim Possible. Look, I need a favor."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	13. Part XIII  The Alpha Plot

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XIII - The Alpha Plot**

* * *

Three aircraft were being lifted into place by an overhead crane. Crews dressed in coveralls versions of the magenta and white off WWEE swarmed all over them, preparing them for flight. Perhaps it was not as efficient as the automated hanger system built into Global Justice headquarters, but it would do for their purposes. The flight crews readied themselves as fuel lines were disengaged.

Cary allowed himself a smug, satisfied smile. He was standing on the raised platform in the middle of his command and control center. While he knew they would soon have to abandon that particular base, he was not concerned. His mole at GJ told him the fools were still in a wait and see mode where they were concerned. By the time they 'saw' it would be too late and he would be safely ensconced in another one of their hideouts.

There was a bad moment when he learned Team Possible had penetrated the installation. If Global Justice didn't have their collective heads up their backsides, they would have had assault teams hitting the base before Kim and Ron had finished transmitting their findings. Instead, with a little bit of help from his man inside, the information wasn't even passed on to Doctor Director until sometime the next morning. Why they didn't attack then, he couldn't fathom. What mattered was that he was assured they were not planning any kind of move against them then. That gave them all the more time to implement their plan.

It was all very simple, actually, at least to his active mind. GJ had learned the hard way that super villains always had some means of escape when captured. Part of that came from the agency's stunning lack of common sense. The other part was the outside support many of them had. There was always a network of henchmen ready to curry favor by springing their boss from prison, or at least earn a bonus from their real employer, usually HenchCo.

Despite all of that, Gemini languished in prison for more than two years. It seemed nobody at WWEE was quite totally willing to do anything to get him back. The defacto leaders who managed to put the organization back together after his capture certainly didn't. They knew they would have to get him back within days or risk his certain wrath. He was paying the price for his deep intolerance of his own lackeys.

That was soon to come to an end. He had learned a closely guarded secret. Certain criminals without special powers of their own were moved from secure location to secure location from time to time, to stymie plans made to spring them. Without his robotic hand, Gemini was nothing more than a middle-aged, slightly overweight man with one eye and one hand. The super-secure pit they threw the likes of Shego into now would have been a better choice, but space in those high-dollar locations was at a premium. That meant they had to get inventive.

A trio of Global Justice hoverjets would land at the current facility and the prisoner would be hustled aboard. Then they would take off at full throttle to any one of four other random, secure locations. The pilot was not given his flight plan until the prisoner was aboard. If all went well, they would have everyone home in time for dinner and prime-time TV.

It all looked good on paper, but there were certain weaknesses. For one, the aircraft would always originate in Middleton, then head to wherever the prisoner was currently being held. GJ hoverjets had full stealth capability, so they were extremely difficult to track in the air. In full quiet mode, with electronic countermeasures active, not even HQ would know their exact location while they were in the air.

All it took was knowing when they were planning to launch and where the prisoner was being held. They waited an extra two months, allowing the whole plan to become routine before they were ready to strike.

Actually, Cary On, the current Agent Alpha, couldn't care less about Gemini. The man was a fool, with his insane fixation with trying to one-up his sister, instead of dedication the organization to its true purpose. He squandered his resources, both human and otherwise, to that end. It was no wonder his own people seemed to fear and despise him so.

Still, he provided a rallying point for the foundering organization. The temporary leaders had the organizational skills to pull WWEE back together with spit and baling wire, but they lacked the ambition and focus to do any more than that. That's when Cary stepped in, donning the uniform and the emblem of Gemini's second in command, the mysterious Agent Alpha.

Nobody knew he was actually a nineteen year old who had recently escaped from a medium security prison camp in Northern Colorado. He was intelligent enough and ruthless enough they simply took him at his word. In no time he was able to shape them back into an effective force for spreading a brand of evil and chaos that appealed to him.

It also helped there were enough of them left who dealt with Kim Possible the first time who relished the opportunity to take her on once more. It was as if he had his own personal army at his disposal to both take over the world and get his (and by default his father's) revenge on the teen hero.

While they played their waiting game, he was free to pursue his own plot against her. It was easy enough to insert himself onto the campus. It wasn't like they guarded their computer systems like, say, a multi-national company. Once in place, with a suitable disguise, he was able to spy on her, to make her life miserable.

Now all of that was coming to fruition. He took a chance that Stoppable had somehow never revealed who Agent Alpha actually was. It was a calculated risk. If she did know he was free, then there was the chance she would see through his disguise. Instead he was treated to a fantastic show. Kim Possible was now out of the picture. She was in more pain than he could have imagined before. The concept that he was finally able to drive a wedge between her and Ron was almost palpably delicious.

He walked around the edge of the large bank of controls on the raised platform. He would not sit in the seat. That was reserved for Gemini alone. Now, if things were to go south with their attempt, then perhaps he would take that seat himself. Gemini would become a martyr to the cause and he would set himself up as the new supreme commander. Perhaps then he would reveal himself and set out to conquer the world in his father's name. Aviarius was a fool himself, but he at least was old enough to command respect if he had the right kind of backing. Plus that gave him the added bonus of painting the target on somebody else while he pulled all the strings.

He grabbed the microphone. "All aircraft, prepare to launch in five minutes. All ground crew to ready positions. Open pod bay doors."

"Pod?" Agent Pi curled his mouth in confusion.

"Just open the damned doors." He growled.

"Agent Alpha, I'm detecting a small aircraft closing on our location." Another technician reported.

"Put it on the main screen." The large monitor dominating the room switched to an outside view. There was a tiny speck silhouetted by the rising sun. "Identify."

"The markings match those of a bi-plane owned by a crop-dusting service in Lowerton. It's definitely not a military plane, or law enforcement. Shall we shoot it down? We have men with stinger missiles in place."

Cary smiled. He wished his men could see his eyes right then. Somebody was coming, and he had a very good idea who it was.

"No. That would have the potential of alerting the authorities before we can properly evacuate the base. Let it be." That was a good enough explanation. One the trio of stolen GJ hoverjets were in the air, they would signal the complete evacuation of the base itself. To him, that meant simply getting out of there once the real GJ planes were on their way there. This was the move the enemy was waiting for, but they would be too late. That was the price they would pay for letting him make the first move.

The massive doors protecting the main hanger complex locked into their open position. The trio of aircraft lifted into the air, much more quietly than the helicopters they normally used. Moments later they were speeding off into the dawn sky. They would drop into the course set by a matching set of jets that would be leaving Middleton shortly. Nobody at the prison complex would even bat an eye at the jets arriving just a few minutes early. They would not realize their mistake until they were safely on their way and the three real transports came in for a landing.

"Give the order. Sound the general evacuation." Cary ordered as he opened a pouch on his belt. He took out a pair of finely crafted leather gloves. Set into the back of each was a clear crystal. He grinned evilly as he pushed them down around his fingers. He was going to enjoy this.

He slowly walked down the steps leading from the platform to the main floor below. All around him his men were bustling. They would fan out into the mountains, headed for hidden vehicles that would carry them to the rendezvous point. From there they would move into the new lair, the lair from which either Gemini and his right hand man Alpha, or Aviarius and his son Carrion would take over the world. He literally licked his lips at the thought. He wasn't even old enough to drink legally and he was well on his way to doing what so many dreamed of.

In the space of five minutes, the entire base cleared out. They already made all the appropriate preparations. There was nothing they needed to carry, they simply had to leave. In moments a computer virus would be unleashed into the network, destroying all electronic evidence. Following that, specially placed charges would destroy even that. There would be nothing left but a collapsed cavern full of smoking, twisted metal for Global Justice to sift through.

Confident he was alone, he stripped off the hood, letting his now shoulder length hair spill out. He flexed his fingers in his custom made gloves. He really appreciated the feel and fit of the Italian leather, but it was his special addition, his special ingredient that truly made him smile. Balling his right hand up into a fist, the crystal started glowing. This time nobody would wrest a staff out of his hand. This time, he had not only one, but two crystals. They were much smaller than the first, but he had refined the process for growing them, imbuing much smaller gems with the power and ability sucking qualities into what had once been the size of his hand. Picking a target at random, he spun around and fired a beam at one. It intersected the abandoned microphone harmlessly. The beams were meant to work on flesh and blood, not metal and plastic.

The original crystal he created for his father was designed to fulfill only one purpose. That was to steal the "Go Team Glow" powers from his enemies…Team Go. That had been easy enough for him. He was gifted with the knowledge of how certain powers could be transmitted, using specially formulated crystals. Later, he found he could not only steal specific super-powers, but with a purer, more sophisticated crystal he could also steal normal human abilities. If he kept those abilities long enough, the transfer became permanent. Apparently it took longer than he thought, for when Kim Possible smashed the second crystal, most of his stolen skills fled him. Most, but not all.

Shortly after breaking out of the prison camp, he created a third crystal, spending a month seeking out the best and the brightest, stealing each person's best ability from them. It gave him superior speed, superior agility and boosted his already genius intellect.

With the resources at his command at WWEE, he created his masterpiece, his new gloves.

Soon, very soon he was expecting the delivery of some new powers, powers beyond anything his father ever believed in. His focus was only on that remaining quartet of heroes in Go City. Cary had watched, waiting in the wings as he held what could be the ultimate power right in his hand and never knew it.

"Foolish boy." Aviarius had mocked.

Cary stopped and turned. He was no longer alone in the cavernous command center. Framed in the nearby doorway was a lone man. He was dressed from head to toe in solid black, just standing there, as if he were waiting for something.

He squared off and faced the apparition. Suddenly the clothing seemed to change. Glowing yellow striped appeared, as well as dark gray panels on the shoulders. With the increasing light he could see the brown colored gloves. The figure reached up and pulled down his hood.

"I was wondering when you would get here, Ron. Seems I owe you for some teeth, if I remember correctly."

Ron didn't say a word. Blue light flared from his eyes and around his hands, mixing with the bright yellow of the suit's power bands. He stretched out his fingers and there was a very faint sound, like a small knife being drawn from a metal sheath. Without a sound, Ron started toward him at a dead run.

Cary just held up a hand and fired.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	14. Part XIV – The Monkey and the Condor

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XIV – The Monkey and the Condor**

* * *

"Wade, have you got anything yet?" Kim picked up the black wig, wrinkling her nose at it.

"Not a thing. As long as he's got his suit on full stealth mode, he's not going to show up, not even his locator chip. The suit is masking the signal."

Kim had pulled out the stops. She was in her own suit, with the glider pack attached to her back. Even though Ron was taking pains not to be seen, he was certainly not covering his tracks. The ripped open box containing his Fearless Ferret version two point O was still out in the middle of the treehouse. Kim pretty much figured what he wanted out of there, though she still could not reconcile that with the Ron she knew.

The super-suit combined with the razor claws of the Ferret suit would be a potent weapon. Just the fact he sought them out concerned her. Actually, it more than concerned her. There was a voice inside her screaming she had to do something. The sun was about to come up on a day where Ron was either going to be a murderer or dead. She was still realistic enough to know both could happen.

Outwardly she was calm. Mission mode could do that for her. The moment she zipped the suit shut on her lean body, she went from Kimmie, the weeping, distraught girl to Kim Possible, Teen Superhero. Frenetic crying was not going to save Ron either from Carrion or from himself. Calm, intelligent, rational thought was the key.

"I've got something, Kim." She had left the line open, but had clipped the Kimmunicator to her equipment belt while she looked for clues in the nearly empty apartment.

"Go, Wade."

"A call was placed using the telephone in that apartment. It only lasted a couple minutes, but get this…it was to a small airport just this side of Lowerton. Ring any bells?"

"That crop dusting guy! The one who flew me to Wisconsin when Drakken had the laser hidden in the World's Largest Cheese Wheel."

"I thought you already spent that particular favor."

She thought for a moment. "I did, but that doesn't mean he couldn't ask again. If he's going where I think he is, they would be there in no time. Patch me through to GJ."

"Already there." He touched his keyboard. Doctor Director appears almost instantly. As usual, her hair and makeup were immaculate, even though it was just dawn. When did that woman actually sleep?

"I need transport to the WWEE Rocky Mountain hideout ten minutes ago." Kim said directly, without any further explanation.

"You are under strict orders not to interfere with the ongoing operations there."

A touch of anger slipped through her professional demeanor. "I don't care what your orders say. Ron's going after Carrion."

"Carrion? What does he have to…"

"Look, I don't know how he got out or why I haven't heard about it from anyone, but Carrion is Agent Alpha. That's why they have been targeting me."

"You said Ron was going after him?"

Kim sighed. "We had a fight, okay, and I think he's made his mind up that everything is Carrion's fault. I'm afraid he's either going to end up getting hurt, or he's going to do something he's going to regret the rest of his life."

Betty stepped away from the pickup to confer with at least one of her agents. Kim could hear them whispering, but couldn't make out what they were saying. If she had another line to Wade, she could probably have him juice the audio enough, but there was no time for niceties like that.

"Very well, Kim, a two-seater will be there in three minutes. I don't want to hear any complaints about the pilot, as he's the only one I have on standby at the moment. Will that suffice?"

"Please and thank you." Kim said automatically. She walked out onto the open balcony and tucked her hair up into the hood of her suit.

* * *

Betty Director spun on her heel to face the operator as the view screen shut off. "I want to know precisely why I have not been informed that Cary On is not still in custody and I want to know before the echo of my voice dies down in here."

The operator hastened to comply. Rarely had they ever seen her so livid. Whenever she had gone after her brother and his gang of criminals before, there was determination and drive there, but never outright anger. All of that remained bottled up inside. Nobody knew it, but she had been postponing required visits with the base psychiatric staff for more than a year now, citing conflicts in her schedule.

It only took a couple minutes, but he quickly read the report. "The facility where he was incarcerated only lists one escapee at large, and the Federal Marshal service is tracking him in Chicago at the moment." He scanned down the list of data on his screen. "That's odd. He's not even listed as a prisoner."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's just it, I don't understand this. I followed the standard research protocol, starting with his trail and his prison assignment. All of that checks out, but the prison itself does not list him."

"Let me see that." She leaned over the console, scanning the lists her man was reading from. Sure enough, there was the conviction, then the assignment. He was flagged as a violent offender, but due to space constraints he was assigned to a medium security facility, with special notations that he was not eligible for work release or prison gang details. "Damned, foolish, incompetent."

She paced back and forth for a minute. He was supposed to be doing time for kidnapping and assault and it appeared he was being treated just as any other convict on that basis. Only it appeared the justice system once again had no idea how to handle a super-villain. They just thought he was some run-of-the-mill criminal, not a genius capable of extremely complex plots and the inventor of a nefarious technology her own people referred to as 'Soul-Stealers."

Betty touched another control on her console. Wade Load appeared on a secondary screen. "Wade, I'm uploading some data to you. I need for you to run a trace on it."

"What am I looking for?"

"The first part is the court record of Cary On's conviction. The next is the prisoner list for the camp he was housed in. I want to know if somebody has been altering the records. Apparently he escaped and nobody seems to know that he did."

"I'm on it." Something obviously caught his attention. His eyes shot open wide. "Oh my Gosh! I've got a lock on Ron!"

"What?"

"He's been using a super-suit on full stealth mode. I can't track him at all with it that way, but he just lit up the screen like a road flare."

"What is going on, what happened?"

"He just switched his suit to full battle mode!"

* * *

Ron side-stepped the first blast easily. If he had not been anticipating something of the sort, it would have caught him square in the chest. Cary's aim was good, but apparently he was far more accustomed to slower, even stationary targets.

He thought furiously, trying to recall details on how his crystals worked. He watched first hand as the original shot out its beam, freezing Hego in place. It would have transferred his Blue Go Team Glow to Aviarius if Kim hadn't jumped right in the beam.

They were held fast. Somehow there was some type of immobilization ray built into the blast, allowing the weilder the chance to drain the powers of their victim. That was important to know. Even if he were hit, there might be time to break free before any powers or abilities were leached from him.

Carrion gritted his teeth and fired again with his other hand. He dodged that easily as well, though the chance of him getting hit increased exponentially as he covered the distance between him and his target.

What had Kim put in her after-action report when she fought him before? How long would the crystals take to recharge? If it were anything like his father's original staff, it wouldn't be long at all. He seemed to fire it repeatedly like a weapon as Kim and Shego dodged the blasts.

Aviarius' words rang in his head. He caught the two of them in the beam while they were distracted bringing down his giant robotic Flamingo of Doom. "You ladies talk too much."

He wasn't going to make that mistake. His jaw was set. He wasn't going to talk Carrion into submission, he had something else in mind.

Carrion started firing wildly. Ron simply twisted his body this way and that, dancing through the oncoming attack, not with the grace of a dancer, but with odd, flailing movements like a monkey swinging between the trees. When he was one stride away from his opponent, he fired the suit's defense screens.

The power bands flared brighter, creating a sphere of glowing yellow energy around him. It was designed to both protect his body and to force anyone grappling with him away. One of their previous opponents discovered another use for the screens using a stolen battle-suit. It could not only force an attacker away, the force it generated could be directed downward. Timing a leap perfectly, it sent him rocketing forward like a canon-shot.

Ron twisted his body in mid-flight, dodging a desperate counter-punch. He felt his closed fist connect with Carrion's face. A wicked smile crossed his own features as he felt the rigid internal gauntlet of his Ferret-gloves smash into soft flesh and the bone underneath.

The momentum of his attack carried both of them to the concrete floor. Carrion was knocked onto his back and sent sliding across the floor, smashing into one of the supports holding up the central platform. Ron simply rolled up onto his feet and readied himself for another assault.

He was a second too slow. Carrion raised a fist and fired point blank. He could see the white flash of the crystal and almost panicked. Sensing his distress, the suit reacted for him, firing the protective screens once more.

The brilliant white light splashed over the screen with surprising force, stopping him in his tracks. He could feel the field it generated trying to gain purchase on the flaring sphere of amber light. There was definitely something at work designed to hold the victims helpless.

His boot found purchase on the floor and muscles started pushing against the beam. It was light fighting against somebody using a fireman's hose to fend him off.

Then the crystal was spent. Before he could bring the other to bear Ron rushed him again, this time tackling him with open arms, bearing him down once more.

He was too close for Carrion to use his weapons, but his enemy was far from helpless without them. An elbow came around, crashing into Ron's jaw, sending him flailing sideways. Instinctively he rolled aside just as another beam of white light slammed into the hard surface he had been on moments ago.

Ron kicked off, somersaulting backwards, dodging yet another beam. This time he struck again with a closed fist, firing the screens right as he connected.

Carrion was already learning from his assault. He couldn't dodge the suit-enhanced punch so he simply rolled with it, coming up on his feet mere yards away from him. Using both the force screen and the suit's built-in speed and strength enhancements, Ron sprung directly upwards, coming down feet first. His heels joined together as he smashed into the bastard's head.

Ron let his knees buckle, vaulting right off of Carrion's face, just as he had seen Kim do to Erik in the fight at Bueno Nacho headquarters. He sailed up into the air, landing catlike on the raised platform.

Growling, the tall, blonde haired teen fired both beams at the black-clad wraith. Ron jumped once more, vaulting over the control desk in the middle of the platform. Pointing his fist upwards, He fired the grappler cable on the back of his wrist. The tip ripped right out a special slit in the glove, which was itself designed to work with the nearly identical Ferret hook.

The cup attached itself to an overhead pipe. The cable pulled him up and away just as Carrion got in the clear for another shot. Halfway through the flight, he released the cup. He spun in midair as the cable snaked back into the back of his arm, landing on his feet right behind him. He punched him in the back of the neck.

That didn't work as well as he anticipated. Carrion must have been wearing some kind of body armor under the Agent Alpha suit, that or it was built directly into the uniform. It felt like he was punching a brick wall and if not for two layers of gloves his hand would have been severely bruised or perhaps even broken.

Carrion spun around, gripping Ron by the throat. He twisted out of the grip but stumbled sideways, slightly off balance.

His opponent took full advantage, though his attack was a more conventional punch. Apparently his smaller crystals did not work in close quarters combat. That or he simply did not have enough experience using them in a hand-to-hand battle.

The fist crashed into Ron's jaw, rattling his teeth and his brain. Another roundhouse punch caught him from the other direction. In desperation, he flared the defense screens just as Carrion tried a spinning kick. The force of the blow sent them both flying apart.

He shook his head, trying to clear his vision. Despite the suit, the bird-boy freak managed to land some solid hits on him. It was time to take this to the next level.

Carrion tackled him before he could get fully to his feet. They tumbled together, his leather clad hands around Ron's neck. Not knowing what else to do, he head-butted him right in the middle of the face.

He stumbled backwards, holding both hands over his now-broken nose, blood streaming from it. Ron roared, feeling something surging through his body. He brought one fist down on the floor with a resounding thunderclap. The floor cracked and split, sending Carrion off his feet and onto his backside. Screaming like a howler monkey with its tail on fire, Ron leaped at his downed quarry, blue fire flaring from his fists.

Desperately, Carrion rolled onto his back, kicking upwards. He caught Ron right in his midsection, sending him flying upwards and away. He slammed into the concrete on his back and only a quick roll to the left saved him from a brilliant shaft of colorless light.

His enemy was upon him again, grabbing him by the collar. Carrion brought his knee up into Ron's chin, rattling him as it snapped his neck back. Only the cybernetic enhancements of the suit kept his spine intact.

Carrion pressed his advantage, bringing an elbow down on the back of his head, smashing him down to the ground. He had a glimpse of a booted foot coming down as he rolled aside. His ninja-school training and months of full-contact sparring with Kim were all functioning on autopilot now. He was too rattled to think coherently any more. It was no longer a fight of smarts, only of instinct and brutality.

Cary grinned wickedly. Stoppable was definitely much more dangerous than he had given him credit for being. When they fought in the warehouse almost a year earlier, Ron had taken him unawares. His attack was swift and brutal, but lacking in form or technique. If he had seen it coming he could have easily blocked with the staff he was armed with then. Still, there was one distinct advantage he had over his foe. Team Possible always fought to subdue. In fact, most of their enemies, even Shego herself, only wanted to put them down for the count.

He had no compunctions about putting Ron Stoppable down permanently, even if that meant missing his opportunity to steal his Mystical Monkey Power. He brought his fist down to smash his head back into the rock-hard floor.

Faster than the eye could follow, Ron grabbed his wrist with both hand, wrenching him sideways. With all the force his lean body could produce, along with the boost his battle-suit gave him, he slammed the back of Carrion's hand down into the concrete. There was a sudden flash of light as the crystal splintered, embedding small fragments in his flesh.

He backed away, howling, gripping his injured hand. As Ron staggered to his feet, he ripped the glove off and pulled the largest of the fragments out with his teeth.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping your powers out of your body before I tear your head off, Stoppable." He spat, circling his opponent.

Ron was spitting blood himself. He knew Carrion was going to fight to the finish with him. He knew going in his opponent would kill him before letting himself bet beaten once again. He also knew he would only be expecting him to fight fair. Ron Stoppable of Team Possible was the good-guy, after all.

What his enemy did not expect was that particular Ron was left in a bedroom back in Middleton.

Carrion leaped at him again, his remaining gloved fist drawn back for a full-body twisting roundhouse blow. Ron's hand flew out.

Razor claws extended from his fingertips. They weren't designed as weapons, only as tools. He used them once before to slash his way out of the ropes White Stripe had used to bind him to the Tri-City convention center's framework, then to cut the ferret claw line away, setting the skunk balloon free.

Weapon or not, they were capable of cutting through thousand pound test cable like a hot knife through butter. They encountered significantly less resistance when they met flesh.

Carrion stumbled backwards, howling in rage and pain. The cuts were not deep or life-threatening, but fresh blood joined what was already crusting under his nose. Then, snarling like an enraged jungle cat, he sprung forwards. His attack was so fast, so furious it caught Ron off-guard. A gloved hand clamped around his neck.

White light surged around the glove. Ron felt his whole body go rigid. Desperately, he tried firing the defense screens, but the yellow sphere only flickered for a moment, then disappeared. Little blue lightning bolts danced all over the suit as its power systems shorted out, overwhelmed and spent trying to ward off Carrion's attack.

The monkey howling started again in his head. He could feel the power then, knowing it was fully active in his body, yet nothing was happening. He could not move. His ruined face a mask of rage, Carrion lifted him by his neck, holding his limp body aloft.

The screaming of a thousand monkeys filled his head, joined by his own screaming as the white-hot power surged though his limbs. He could feel what it was doing. The power of Tai Xing Pek Kwar was bonded to his very soul, yet here was a power that seemed to be ripping it clear away from him. When he first gained the power, he thought it was tied to the four jade statues Monkey Fist collected, and even the monkey-crazed Englishman thought that power was lost when they were destroyed. It was only later that he learned the transfer was permanent, that it had actually become a part of him.

Carrion's power was to strip away an enemy's greatest ability. There was no question that the Monkey Power was his. He was not a gifted athlete like Kim, a genius like Wade or anything like that. All he really had to bring to the table was that power, and now it was being torn from him.

It was tied to his soul, and that could not be torn free. If he was successful stealing the power, then it would take Ron's life as well. He tried to fight, but to no avail. The power of the crystal held him fast, draining him of energy just as it was draining him of his very life essence.

Carrion bared his teeth in a horrible caricature of a smile. He could sense what was happening. The power was becoming his! And it was far more than he could have ever imagined. No wonder Montgomery Fiske was so enthralled with it!

Ron could feel himself fading. He had come here to stop Carrion once and for all, to remove him from Kim's life, to protect her from him. Now he was going to be more powerful than ever!

His failure was complete.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	15. Part XV  United we Stand

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XV - United we Stand**

* * *

Kim sat on the edge of the acceleration lounge. She snapped out of her harness just about the moment they were airborne, already preparing for her leap. Her nerves were already on edge, so much so she really didn't care that Will Du was piloting the miniature, two seat "fighter" hoverjet. A couple times he almost said something, but a quick glare from her made him hold his tongue. 

She sat in silence watching the terrain fly by below them in a blur. Her stomach was turning flips as she thought about what she might find when she got there, if that was even where he was. No, there was no doubt in her mind. Ron was there. She knew him better than any other person on Earth, including his parents. Just as certainly as the events of the last twenty four hour caused her to snap and destroy part of her room, the emotions had become too much for Ron and he was taking it out in the form of a final solution.

"Five minutes to target." Will announced, wincing slightly thinking even that might set her off. It didn't. As long as he stuck to business he was just another instrument on the hoverjet doing its job.

_Time to get checked out on one of these things_ Kim told herself. The new flyer Wade was putting together would primarily rely on pre-programmed flight plans, but she insisted it have manual controls and wanted to learn how to fly it herself. The days of being chauffeured around on her missions was coming to an end. There weren't going to be any more surprises like the time they actually had to pay a helicopter pilot for a ride or like the time Team Impossible prevented them from even getting their rides.

It would also mean being able to just about tell Global Justice where to stick their 'orders.' Their 'independent contractor' status wasn't her idea and she only endured it thinking of it as a necessary evil. If they got out of this…when they got out of this that would come to a close. Kim Possible was her own person and the only other person who had any say in what Team Possible would do from now on was Ron.

The Kimmunicator rang and she hit the accept button before it could get through all four familiar notes. "Go Wade."

"I just got off the line with Doctor Director. Ron's suit just went to full battle mode. He doesn't care if I can see him now, he lit the screens up like a lightning bolt."

"Is he?..."

"He's right where we thought he would be. Apparently WWEE doesn't care if they're seen now either. Satellite scans show a large opening in the mountainside, as if they left some hanger doors open."

"Good, then they're just showing me the way in."

"That's not all. I was trying to hack my way into their computer system when it all went dead. They instituted some kind of kill virus that took out their entire system. But that's not the worst of it. Before I got cut off, I found the base has a self-destruct system, and it's been activated."

"How long?"

"You've got about ten minutes. After that, the whole base is going to be leveled."

"One minute to target." Will stated. He glanced over at Kim, meeting her eyes.

Kim almost looked away, but she found something there she was not expecting. Instead of smug, often misplaced confidence, she saw respect and concern in his expression. Will Du might have been a pompous, arrogant, self-centered jerk most of the time, but he was still a human being and he knew quite well what Ron meant to her. She thought she could also see a degree of respect for Ron himself, after all, the very first day they met, Ron saved his life.

Kim clipped her Kimmunicator back to her belt and got ready. The craft was already slowing and she could see the mountaintop containing he base they had infiltrated two nights earlier. With a last check she nodded to Will. The canopy rolled back and the wind caught her in the face. She pulled the strap of her helmet tight and fired the drive unit of her glider pack, sending her up and above the jet. Twisting her body in mid-flight, she extended the wings. The inverted gravitational field took hold, leveling her flight. He checked the chronometer on the back of her glove. Eight minutes estimated until the whole base would blow up.

Gunning the engine, she rocketed toward the huge doors open in the east facing slope. The fact such an inviting entrance could be a trap occurred to her, but there was no time. She would just have to go with her gut that the base had already been evacuated and nobody would even be aware of her approach.

* * *

Ron watched helplessly as a greenish light started seeping from his body. It was happening. Carrion was sapping his 'powers'…his greatest abilities. His body hung from his fist like a limp rag doll. He could already feel the fingers tightening around his throat. If the forced removal of his powers didn't kill, him, then the bastard was going to finish the job himself. Then there would be nothing left standing in his way from going after Kim. 

What had gone wrong? He had the super-suit, he had his hard-won fighting skills, he had the ferret weapons and on top of all that, he could feel his Mystical Monkey Power working for a change. With all that working for him, how could he have failed so miserably? Without the crystals, Cary On was just a normal human being. He wasn't even using any weapons besides the crystal itself. He went in, confident in his belief he would quickly and easily take Carrion down.

Something was missing from the equation. No matter how many weapons, how many skills he took into the situation, he was incomplete. As his consciousness faded, it all became so clear to him. Without one, the other is incomplete. He was strong, stronger than he had ever been in his life, but the foundation of that strength was Kim. Without her he didn't have that final edge, that intangible something that made them victorious again and again and again.

Kim's voice rang in his head "I can't save the world without you." He couldn't recall her ever saying those words to him, but they were as clear as any memory of her to him. That filled him with new despair. In his foolishness he was costing her something that she relied on. Himself. It wasn't just some 'Ron Factor.' They were a team. He had his part to do, she had hers and leaving one or the other out took away that edge, that something special they brought to the fight.

His vision started to fade, though whether it was from lack of oxygen to his brain on that his soul was being torn into by the dual assault of his strength being sapped by the crystal and the despair he was feeling in his heart. Ron was no longer being held aloft by his throat, but drifting in a soft sea of light, cradled by clouds softer than any satin sheet. Strong, yet dove soft arms wrapped around him, caressing him. He could hear her voice. _I am here Ron._

It came to him he rally was hearing her voice.

"Put my fiancé down!" She screamed.

Carrion looked at Kim and smiled. She was standing there, legs apart, dressed in the same type of suit Ron was, only trimmed in glowing blue bands.

"Shouldn't you be at home crying your eyes out?" He mocked.

"Been there, done that, bought the t shirt. Now let him go, you bastard!"

He glanced at the unconscious man in his grip, grinning wickedly, then turned back to Kim. "As you wish." He opened his hand, letting Ron drop to the floor like a worn-out Pandaroo. He squared off with her, their eyes locking together.

The sight of him almost made her want to retch. There was so much he had in common with Ron. Their hair and skin were almost the same color. Carrion even had freckles across his cheeks and nose, just like Ron had. The worst of it was he had the same chocolate brown eyes. When she had first laid eyes on him at the start of their Senior year in high school, she thought he was the perfect vision of what Ron might grow into one day. He had all the best traits, along with a square jaw and broad shoulders, as if he were some kind of perfected vision of the man she loved.

Now the veil was torn away. He wasn't the perfected Ron. There was no such thing. Ron was who she loved and his face, with the rounded jaw and the large ears sticking up and out, that was perfection, that was the hottie that made her heart race. Ron was the man she wanted to spend her life with.

Carrion was just a perversion of that.

That knowledge took something within her and changed her. For almost a year she had been living with a kernel of fear deep in her heart. What he had threatened to do to her almost paralyzed her at times. He may not have had the chance to lay a hand on her that day, but he still took away her innocence.

Now facing him once more, she saw him for what he truly was. He was the purest evil she had ever faced, but instead of fearing him, it only made her angry. Innocence was gone, but knowledge had taken its place. The fear that had slowly been eating away at her mind suddenly washed away, passing through her. A passage from one of the Science Fiction novels her final High School English teacher made her read came back to her.

_I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain._

The power that Carrion had taken away from her that night returned to her. She saw him now at the pathetic corruption of a human being he really was.

"You're too late, little kitty-kitty." He laughed maniacally. "You couldn't do anything to me before without your little protector here, and now I have his power." He held up the gloved hand, displaying the crystal. It flared to life, sending streamers of greenish light swirling around his body.

"The Mystical Monkey Power is now mine! I am no weak fool like Stoppable, I have no fear in my heart keeping me from using it to its fullest potential. You thought Monkey Fist was terrible, wait until you see what I can do!"

He looked directly at Kim, expecting to see her cowed before his magnificence. Instead what he saw reminded him much more of another kind of cat. She wasn't a frightened little kitty-cat as he taunted her, she was a lioness. No matter, he had the power now.

"I'm going to par-broil you, I'm going to filet you like a trout. I'm going to throw you into the blender and set it to puree."

Kim stood up a little straighter, a wry smile spreading across her lips. "So you stole Ron's greatest power, huh?"

"Of course I did! That is how the crystal works!"

Kim's smile got a little wider as she saw Ron stir. Carrion wasn't paying him any attention, so he didn't see his eyes starting to glow blue.

"Maybe, Carrion, I need to boil you like the hollandaise sauce." She shot right back at him.

"Fool! Everyone knows the sauce will be ruined it if comes to a boil!" He suddenly stopped, confusion playing across his features. He held up his fists, apparently trying to concentrate. "What is happening? Where is the blue fire?"

"How about this blue fire?" She flared the defense screens of her suit, sending her flying into the air. She flipped twice, bringing her foot down right across his jaw.

Carrion stumbled backwards, dazed by the blow. He wasn't ready when Kim punching him in the jaw. It wasn't a single strike, but a flurry of blows coming faster than the eye could follow. She hit him in the face, in the gut, pounding him relentlessly, never letting him get his guard up. Finally she backed off, letting him slowly get to his feet.

"Where is the power? I should be hearing the howling, I should feel the strength of the simian spirit surging through me."

"Because you're nothing but a pathetic fool, Carrion. The power might give Ron great strength and the natural ability to use Monkey Kung-fu, but that was never his greatest ability." She moved in on him again, roundhouse kicking him in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Maybe this time while you're in prison you can start a cooking class."

"What?"

"On second thought, that's not yours." She fired her grappler. The molecular bonding cup smacked into his hand, adhering to the glove. With a might pull, she ripped the glove clean off of his hand."

"No!"

Kim held the glove in her hand. The crystal was glowing faintly. She wondered what other powers were still trapped in the crystal. No matter.

She flung the remains of the glove to the ground, smashing the crystal with her foot. Little motes of light danced around it, many swirling up into the air. One quickly found its way back to Ron.

Carrion slowly got to his feet. Weakly he held his fists up as Kim approached him.

"I should have done this the last time instead of telling Ron to let you go." She grabbed his shoulders and brought her knee up with all the force her muscles and the exoskeleton of her suit could muster.

He doubled over in pain, clutching between his legs. Using her grappler cable, she quickly tied him up, making sure to bind his legs as well. He lay there moaning, not offering any resistance.

Kim went over to Ron. One of his eyes were swollen shut and his whole face was slowly turning into a huge bruise. She hated to think what his body looked like under his suit. The amber colored power bands had gone completely dim.

Still, he managed a little goofy smile when he saw her kneeling in front of him. She reached out and gently touched his face.

With a sudden, horrid thought, she checked her chronometer. There was no way to tell how badly he was hurt, but there was no choice. Wrapping her arms around his chest, she hauled him to his feet. The wings extended and the engine of her glider flared to life.

Just as she was about to lift off, she looked over at the bound figure moaning on the floor. She said a silent prayer that her new pack really was more powerful than the other and grabbed a handful of the cables binding him.

Painfully slowly the three of them lifted into the air. The anti-gravity wings were clearly outmatched by their combined weight, but the engine was strong enough to give them lift, though flying was ungainly trying to keep the thrust vectored downwards. She could see the open doors ahead of them, with the brightening morning sky beckoning them onwards.

They had about a hundred feet to go when the first charge went off. The main console disintegrated in a shower of metal, plastic and rock. The pressure wave hit them, propelling them onwards, taking them clear of the next explosion that took out the command console on the raised platform. More charges started going off above them and she was barely able to dodge the worst of the shrapnel. The large crane broke loose, crashing down right behind her. Smoke and fire filled the air. She pushed the throttle all the way open then leg go of the control, hanging on to Ron with one arm in case he didn't have the energy to maintain his grip himself. All she could do was try to control their flight with her body as they were buffeted by dozens of explosions.

A final blast, larger than the rest brought the entire cavern down, just as they rocketed out of the opening into the clear. The top of the mountain suddenly sagged as plumes of chocking dust swirled all around them.

Moments later they were clear. They were coming up on another ridge and they were going too fast to correct. She leveled out their flight as best she could, then let go of Carrion, letting him fall into what she hoped was relatively soft mountain scrub.

She rolled sideways, taking the brunt of the impact at they piled into the other mountain. The wing of her pack was snapped right off and she could feel them rolling, tumbling toward the cliff. Twisting her body, she wrapped one arm around Ron, firing her remaining grappler cable. The tip caught something and held fast. The line played out as they sailed over the edge of the cliff. Then she felt it go taught. Pain shot through her shoulder, but she clung to Ron as if her own life depended on it.

In a way, it did.

A roaring filled her ears. For half a moment she thought more explosives were going off, then the pressure was taken off her arm. She could feel other arms around her, gently taking Ron from hers. Sensing they were safe, she hit the release, freeing her overstretched arm from the cable.

The larger hoverjet closed its hatch and bore them away.

* * *

Kim rubbed her shoulder. It was going to hurt for a while, but somehow she managed not to dislocate it. Surprisingly, that, and a couple bruises she suffered in the crash, were all that was wrong with her. 

The emergency room had already discharged her, so she was free to go check on the other patient. She ran into her mother right outside of his room.

"Mom? How is he?"

"Damned lucky." She sighed. "The x-rays all came back negative. He's bruised up pretty badly and has some loose teeth, but other than that, he's none-the-worse for the wear." She nodded toward the room. "He's waiting for you."

Kim nodded once, then brushed past her mother.

Ron's face was still swollen, but he looked somewhat more comfortable than he had when they brought them in. He smiled again when he saw her. "Hey." He said, a little dreamily.

"Hey yourself." She sat down on the edge of his bed.

He looked away then. "Kim, I'm so, so sorry, I…"

"Shhhhh. We can talk about all of this later. Time and place and all, you know." She gently placed her hand on his cheek and slowly turned his face back toward her.

"We've both made truly horrible mistakes, and that's something we're going to have to deal with, Ronnie, but that doesn't change the fact I love you with my whole heart, and I hope you feel the same about me."

"I always have." He seemed a little distant, but that was due to the pain killers he had been given. He still had the brightness in his eyes, even if they were surrounded by purple bruises.

Kim leaned over and gave him the lightest kiss on his lips. "Don't ever do that again."

Ron winced slightly. "Believe me, I won't. We're a team, and I forgot that for a moment."

Kim's smile faded slightly. "I don't just mean going after Carrion alone. I've said it before, there are no secrets. I don't care how much you think it's going to hurt me, you tell me everything. We can deal with bad feelings, but you put both of us in danger not telling me about him. You understand?"

He nodded slowly. "Carrion…is he?..."

"He's in a GJ hospital. They're taking charge of him now, so I don't think we'll have to worry about him for a long time to come. Besides, he's going to be talking like Falsetto Jones for a while."

Ron laughed involuntarily, though it apparently hurt him slightly to do so. He reached out and took Kim's hand. "It did feel good to wail on him though, at least until he beat me. Guess I am Stoppable after all."

"Don't talk like that, honey. Just don't ever forget. Together we're Un-Stoppable."

He laughed again. "I couldn't help but notice, you still called me your fiancé back there."

"Uh huh. Really, Baby, can you even imagine us not getting married?"

He gently took her ring finger. "There for a bit, I thought I screwed even that up."

A tear rolled down Kim's cheek. "No. What I did to you was horrible. You deserved a slap in the face, not having your heart ripped out." For effect, she gave him a very light pat on the cheek. "There, it's done. Now we can start putting all this behind us."

"Almost." Painfully, he sat up and took off the stainless steel necklace he was wearing. Kim closed her eyes as she felt him putting the ring back on her finger. She smiled, then looked down at her hand.

There was an emerald ring resting on her left-hand ring finger.

"The promise ring?" She said with a little shock. "I'm not your fiancé any more?"

"Yes you are. What matters is that you said yes. You'll be my fiancé until the day we walk down that aisle together as husband and wife. Just trust me, there will be a right time to give you the diamond back."

Kim smiled softly, getting an inkling of what he had in mind.

* * *

A trio of hoverjets landed in a secluded clearing in the Appalachian mountains. The door slowly opened and two men emerged. One was heavy-set, with reddish brown upsweeping hair and a neatly trimmed Vandyke. 

Another group of men in magenta and white uniforms were waiting for him. One was holding a metallic object, almost bowing and scraping as he approached. He stopped, using his good left hand to release the bindings of the simple prosthetic hand he had been provided. It fell to the ground, forgotten. The other man held up the metal device. The end opened up, accepting his stump. With distinct pleasure he flexed his newly activated bionic hand, extending and retracting the fins of the finger-tip missiles.

"Very good." Gemini said softly. "It feels wonderful to breath real air again. Now tell me, where is this 'Agent Alpha' so I can properly thank him for my freedom?"

"I'm sorry, sir. He has been capture by Glo….by the enemy, sir."

Gemini raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. I very much wanted to know how we came to have an Alpha when I have not named one…"

"…I wanted to offer him a seat."

* * *

a/n – the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear is from Frank Herbert's _Dune_

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	16. Part XVI – A Day of Healing

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XVI**

* * *

The Medical Center ended up keeping Ron overnight for observation even though he was really just bruised up. Kim had a strong suspicion that was just her Mom's strong overprotective streak coming to the fore, but she didn't put up any fuss. In fact, it was her who ended up convincing Ron not to insist he go right home, especially since she owed him one for siding with her Mom about getting an MRI last winter. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to work in his line about her needing her head examined.

He was discharged Saturday morning. Neither of them were quite sure when it had started, but for some reason when Ron was sick, or injured as he was in this case, he would recuperate at Kim's house. There didn't seem to be any particular reason for it, unless it was the fact Kim's Mom was a doctor, though in the wrong specialty. The only time there was good, practical reason for it was the last time he came down with the flu (his 'fortress of immunity' not being all it was cracked up to be.) Then, his Mom had been pregnant with his sister and he was quite contagious.

Jean Stoppable talked to Kim briefly on the phone, concerned that her child had not slept in his own bed since Monday night, but Kim explained to her she needed a chance to have a long, private talk with Ron and keeping him in the house to nurse him was just about perfect. Besides, the guest room had pretty much become his anyway.

Kim smiled softly at her lover as he rested, propped up with a pile of pillows in his long pajamas. There was really no reason he couldn't be up and around, but she knew from experience the kind of injuries he had would heal quicker with a day of real rest in a real bed. Still, he threw a little fit at being cooped up inside when it was an absolutely gorgeous day outside. There had been a light frost in the morning when she drove him home, but it was warming up quite nicely as a warm front brought in an official Indian Summer.

She sat cross-legged on the end of the bed, just watching him as he dozed. He might have wanted to be outside, but here in the guest room they had the most privacy they could get in the home, including her own room. It would have been nice to be out on the deck, laying side by side in the chaise lounges, but the rest of the fam kept trooping by. They needed to be alone for this.

Ron's eyes fluttered open as Kim pulled herself up beside him. As gently as she could, she kissed him on the lips. His mouth parted and merged with hers, the tenderness and joy overwhelming the pain and discomfort he felt. Neither wanted it to stop, but she eventually broke away.

"You're funny, you know that, Ronnie?"

"I do my best." He said, not quite knowing where she was going with that comment.

"I you had been okay, I would be having a ferociously hard time getting you up out of that bed. Next thing you knew, you'd be sleeping past noon and if I was with you, you'd be trying to make me do that too."

Smiling must have been just as uncomfortable as kissing, but he managed to do that too. "Like I said, we should be out doing something. Heck, if you wanted to be alone, we could go to that clearing at Lake Middleton. This late in the season, with the beach closed, it should be pretty quiet there."

"Just listen to yourself, honey. You're talking at half speed. Healing takes a heck of a lot out of you, especially as fast as you heal." Amazingly enough, most of the swelling around his face was gone and some of the lesser bruises were already starting to fade. He really had some amazing recuperative powers, but it still left him drained. He should have remembered that from the time they both got sunburned. They tried to go out and have a full day, but they ended up sacked out by lunch time.

He closed his eyes for a few minutes. She could tell he was tired. Kim hadn't been there to see their fight, but considering the punishment the two men dealt to each other, it must have been a doozy. Their opponent really didn't have much left by the time she got into the fray, though it did feel good…really, really good to do what she did to him. It felt every bit as good as it did to kick Shego into that tower, only this time there were no regrets or second guessing involved. Her fury then caught her by surprise and it was only later she realized that such a blow would have killed any normal woman.

This time, if Carrion ended up singing soprano for the rest of his life, she didn't care. He was already on his way to one of the maximum security super-villain containment centers. This time he wasn't going to slip away by somehow manipulating computer records to say he didn't even exist. At least they were finally taking seriously just how dangerous he could be.

Kim scooted a little closer to Ron, pressing up against his side. With her fingertips she brushed back his bangs. His eyes remained closed and his breathing was regular. He was sound asleep. She frowned slightly, but the frown turned to a smile and she gently rested her head on his shoulder. She was wearing her sweat pants and a t-shirt, so she was just as comfortable as he was, so it didn't take long for her to drift off as well, though she really wanted to enjoy just holding onto his arm that way.

It really was close to noon when she opened her eyes back up. Ron had rolled onto his side and threw and arm over her waist, the same way they usually tended to sleep when they were together. She gave him a little nudge in the shoulder, carefully avoiding the bruises. She took note of where most of them were when she helped him get into his pajamas.

Getting up, Kim went to the kitchen, returning with a pair of sandwiches on plates. Ron eyed his suspiciously.

"Mom made it, it's safe." She said in a mock snarl.

After lunch, Kim took up a spot on the foot of the bed, sitting cross-legged and facing Ron. He was starting to feel much better and emulated her posture, though he did tend to lean back on his pillows slightly. That was probably more because of his innate laziness than the lingering effects of his injuries.

Kim took a deep breath. It was time to start. "Ronnie, we've both apologized and we've forgiven each other for what has happened, but we still need to talk about it."

His pleasant expression slowly morphed into a frown, but he still nodded his head in assent.

"First off, I want to ask you something really hard, and I want you to take your time and give me an honest answer. Do you think we should be engaged to be married? Did we move too fast?"

Ron looked like he had been punched in the gut, but just like she said, he considered that for a few minutes. "Kim, are you saying that, given what we feel about each other, what we've gone through together, we might not be meant to be together?"

"That's what I'm asking you, Ron. Are we making a mistake?"

He looked away from her for a moment, but when he spoke again, he was looking her straight in the eyes. "Kim, I love you."

"I love you too, baby. But are we too young? Were we ready?"

"KP, I don't think anybody is ever completely ready. What I think matters, though, is that I love you. I love you so much it makes me hurt. I want to be with you every hour of the day. The thought of not spending the rest of my life with you makes my head spin, worse that all this knocking around I got. If that doesn't mean we should get married, I don't know what does. I mean, it's not like we're running back to Gatlinburg or to Vegas to get married tonight. It's still more than three and a half years away."

"Guess it's not that hasty anyway, is it?" She half smiled at him.

"Kim, we're just eighteen, but like you said, we've gone through so much together. It's like we were really dating for years, though I never got to kiss you until the Prom. We've got more history together than some people who are married. Actually more history than a lot of people who are married. If you really think about it, we've been engaged for a lot longer than just last August. You said it a long time ago, I was supposed to ask you when we turned eighteen and you were going to say yes. That means we've been planning to get married since the first time we brought it up."

She sighed again. "But are we doing this because it was just the plan?"

Ron shook his head. "Throw all that mumbo-jumbo, yadda-yadda out the window, Kim. The only question that matters right here and right now. Do you want to get married? I don't care what we were thinking two months ago, I don't even care what we were thinking seventeen months ago. Today, sitting here on this bed with me. Will you marry me?"

"Yes." She said without hesitation.

"Then there you have it. That's all the answer you really need."

She smiled broadly at him. It really was that simple. All the pain they had both gone through the last few days, in the end, really didn't try to drive them apart. The fear that she might have lost him on served to reinforce just how much he meant to her. Just, in a moment of pain, she lashed out at him.

"Ron, tell me, why didn't you tell me that was…him?"

He slumped back against the pillows a little harder. "I was afraid of how you would react and all. I wanted to tell you, but it got to the point I felt like it would all blow up, and I guess I was kind of right. Plus, I was kind of being selfish."

"Selfish? I don't get it."

"When I came back from Japan, that time when you told me everything that happened, and then made me kiss your neck like he did, that scared me. It made me think that I could have you, but you would pull away from me every time we had some private time, even to the point when we finally decide to make love. I thought if you started getting afraid of him and stuff, all that would happen again.

Kim put her hand on his knee and squeezed it. She nodded slightly. "Honestly, baby, sometimes when somebody comes up behind me and touches my shoulder, I do jump a little. But when I'm with you, when I know it's you, I want your touch. It feels so good when you touch me, when you kiss me. It was you who drove his face out of my mind, it was you I clung to when things were the worst last winter. You don't know how much it meant to me to have you then. You were the lifeline I was clinging to when I could have drowned in fear."

She scooted over next to him, re-crossing her legs. "I want you to promise me something, and I'll promise you the same thing. No secrets. None. Don't ever let anyone make you promise to keep anything from me ever again. I don't care if it's something at Yamanuchi or something like you lost my best nail file or something. We are a couple and we're a team. We can only function when we both know everything the other does. Yes, I probably would have had a moment if you told me…it…was loose, but I would have known. It's very likely I would have recognized him at school right off the bat and he wouldn't have ever had the chance to do what he did. Keeping me in the dark meant I was going to stumble eventually. Now, do I have your promise?"

Ron took both her hands and looked her straight in the eyes again. "I promise. I won't keep any secrets from you ever again."

Kim let go of his hand and touched the ring hanging from his necklace. "I wish I'd never done that. I wish that was back on my finger. Somehow it just feels incomplete that all I'm wearing is this promise ring, but I understand what you must be feeling. You did what you did because you thought you were protecting me. You did something wrong and foolish, but you did it out of love.

"When I took my rings off, all I wanted to do was hurt you. I wanted to slap you across the face, but that would have been nothing compared to what I actually did to you. Pulling them off and throwing them at you was nothing short of saying in my loudest voice that I didn't love you any more and I was breaking up with you. That's not what I wanted, but that's what I ended up saying. It still tears me up inside that I could do something like that to you."

Ron grabbed her hands again, holding them firmly. "Stop that, KP." She looked away from him, blinking back tears. "Stop it, Okay. You said when we got started, we've forgiven each other. Don't worry about this ring. As far as I'm concerned, it's still on your finger. I'm just saving it for something else. I asked you to trust me. It's not a secret, it's a surprise. Listen, we didn't break up. We've been together non-stop since the moment we kissed that night in May. Heck, we've been together since I saved you from those bullies in Pre-K.

Kim laughed softly through her tears. "I pulled those bullies off of you."

"Hey, we were four, the details are sketchy. All I know is I started the day as a nobody whose only friend was an imaginary giant named Rufus. I ended the day with a friend, and I've loved you ever since that day, though most of the time when we were little I really didn't think of you as a girl."

Kim laughed a bit harder. "You know, I think that's worked in your favor. Back in our mid-teens Dad got all 'no boys' on me for a while, but he never, ever said a word about you. You weren't a boy, you were just Ron." She pulled the collar of her T-shirt down, just a bit. "That's also got him used to you being in a room with me, even when I'm changing."

"You know, it's funny how many times I've actually seen you naked over the years, though it really didn't affect me until later."

"I figured you were peeking. So, when did it start affecting you? Was it when we switched bodies?"

Ron grinned sheepishly. "Actually, it was a little before that. Back when we were Freshmen and I went with you to that out-of-state swim meet. I kind of saw you changing into you swim suit and I sort of figured you didn't know I was there, so I didn't look away. That's when you really started looking like a girl to me, instead of just Kim."

Kim wrapped her arm around his. "Do I still look like a girl to you?" She waited a heartbeat, then another. Finally she let go of his arm. "Well?"

"I'm taking my time to give you a well considered answer." He replied with a smirk.

Kim punched him lightly in the arm, then immediately realized it actually hurt to do that to him when he winced painfully. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry!"

Ron grinned wickedly. He was banged up but he wasn't an invalid. Grabbing both her arms, he flipped her onto her back, landing on top of her with his hands still gripping her shoulders. He pulled her close and gave her a huge kiss. Kim tried struggling for a second, then gave into it, wrapping her arms around his chest.

"You are feeling better." Kim said with a grin.

Ron winced just a little. "Oh, it still hurts, but that was worth it."

"Is it worth it when I do this?" She pulled him down and started down his neck with a series of light kisses, while her hands found purchase at a lower point.

"You know, I think you've found the one part of my body that didn't get pounded on. Got my butt kicked without literally getting my butt kicked."

Kim kissed him again. "You know, we're supposed to be talking, not making out?"

"Who made that rule. Besides, after last Wednesday, don't I owe you some quality time?"

Kim let him sit up just a little. He rolled to the side, letting his body form to hers. "You know, that's another thing we have to talk about."

"Haven't we talked about that enough?"

Kim sat up, though not enough his hands slipped from around her. "No, I was being a real jerk. Just because we've done some things doesn't mean we have to if you're uncomfortable with it. We might have been moving too fast about…well, you know."

Ron sat up beside her, putting his chin on her shoulder. "KP, the only thing I was uncomfortable with is that I might be taking advantage, that's all. What we did…that was badical and I, uh, well…I can't wait until we can do that again, if you know what I mean." For effect his hand trailed down to her waist and he put his pinky into the band of her sweat pants.

"Whoa, not here." She protested, though she was enjoying his returning the favor with the kisses on the neck.

"Why not? Your brothers are gone to soccer practice, your Mom's still at the medical center and I think your Dad's going to leave us alone, since we're 'talking.'"

Kim closed her eyes. Honestly, she knew she really would like some 'enhanced' making out, but somehow it didn't feel right doing that in their home. Then an idea hit her.

"Come on, Ron. You're feeling better, get dressed."

"Huh? I thought I was supposed to rest."

"Well, you can rest riding in the passenger seat. We're hitting the road."

"Um, I don't get it."

Kim dipped her hand into her pocket, coming up with a shiny brass key. "Remember that cabin? The owner said he wasn't going to be up there until the middle of November, so I could use it any time I wanted." She scooted over next to him and whispered in his ear. Even though it still hurt a little bit to do it, Ron smiled broadly.

It didn't take him long to get dressed. They still spent a lot of time talking during the eighty mile drive, though they drifted into far happier subjects.

Both of them came home the next day, far happier indeed.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	17. Part XVII – Fall Into Place

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XVII - Fall Into Place**

* * *

All logic aside, Sherry Godfrey couldn't get over a severe case of he heebie-jeebies caused by her current situation. She was stretched out prone on her own bed being examined by a woman she not only knew to be the mother of her worst enemy, but looked one heck of a lot like her to boot. She couldn't help but think that it could be Kimmie holding that cold-ass wand to her expanding belly. 

Voices in her head, put there by years of telling herself that most other people were exactly like her, kept screaming at her to get out of there, to head into the hills and forget all about this. If it were up to her alone, she would have done just that. Unfortunately her daughter had other things to say about it. For her she gritted mental teeth and let the examination proceed

How Doctor Anne Possible managed to get her hands on a portable ultrasound device she didn't know and didn't care. All that mattered was the little shape it revealed in her tummy.

"Well, Miss Godfrey," She had given up trying to get the older woman to call her Sherry, or even Shego after the first couple visits. Their relationship remained purely proper and professional, even though the examinations were taking place in her rented home. "It appears your little girl is doing perfectly well, at least as far as I can tell. Still wish you would reconsider and get checked out by the proper specialists. I'm having to research just about everything I'm doing for you."

"Hey, Doc, I appreciate everything you're doing for me, but I can't take that kind of risk. I mean, what if Kimmie or the buf…I mean Stoppable were to see me?"

Anne turned a disapproving eye toward the raven-haired young woman. "One, I think you are underestimating the impression you made on her the last time you met. Two, please quit calling her that. Kimmie is what her father and I call her. With all due respect, coming from you is…well, disrespectful."

"Sorry, Doc. Old habits and all." She sat up, letting the pink scrub fall back over her midsection. She had taken to wearing the loose fitting clothing as her girth expanded. She was just a little girl the last time they were in fashion for the general public, but she discovered them quite by accident when she was zapped into a cable TV signal and ended up on an episode of some generic hospital drama. There would sometimes be a stretch of days when she didn't even leave her house, even though her 'doctor' hadn't put her on any kind of restriction. So far, despite all the punishment she had dealt her body over the years, her pregnancy was progressing without any major complications.

The only time she had actually been off the property since first contacting Doctor Possible she found herself in one place she would have never considered going back to. Sherry didn't consider herself a religious person. In fact, she hadn't set foot in a synagogue since they day her adoptive parents, the Godfreys, perished in a horrible car accident. She had been twelve at the time and didn't know she was adopted.

Somehow without thinking about it, she put on a nice, conservative dress, pulled her long hair up into a bun and went to Saturday morning services at the Reform Temple in Middleton. Her Hebrew came back to her haltingly, but somehow it felt comfortable participating in something she felt she had completely forsaken.

She really didn't think of herself as a Jew, especially since she had learned she was adopted. The Godfreys had been very open in their religious views, and left it to their children to make their own decisions how they were called. It struck her as she listened to the Rabbi speak that she really didn't know what direction her brothers had gone in.

Still, that was what she knew, so when the spirit hit her feet, it was a Temple she found herself in.

There was a bit of a moment when she realized exactly who was sitting in the pews near the front. She should have noticed them the moment she sat down. After all, how many redheads could there be sitting with a trio of blondes.

She was a little confused that Kimmie was sitting there holding a baby. It certainly couldn't be hers. It had only been a few months since they were forced to work together, since they had come to a sort of understanding if not a full-on truce. She almost laughed out loud when it dawned on her that the baby was most likely Stoppable's sister.

Princess gets to practice on a sister-in-law first, she thought to herself. Then she got a little sad. The sight of Kim Possible and her fiancé sitting there in the Temple, holding a child as if it were their own made her realize just how much she was missing out on. In just a few short months she would be holding a child, but that child would have no father. It didn't matter that he had laid down his life to save millions, what mattered was he wouldn't be there.

Could she have had what those two did if she had never turned down the dark road she had taken? There was no way to know. She was just cynical enough to realize that she couldn't call it unfair. She had done evil, horrible things. She was literally capable of taking candy from a baby. She had thrown explosives at the Alaska Pipeline. She had tried to kill that happy little redhead so many times.

_Yeah, right, you've really taken your best shot, haven't you, Shego?_ She imagined her pale skin turning mint green, her black hair suddenly reflecting green highlights instead of blue, her cocoa brown eyes turning bright emerald green. All she had to do was think about it and all that would happen. Then she could fire a focused beam of her power and it would take the back of her head off.

She swallowed hard, suddenly sickened with herself that she could think such a thing. Yet, despite that, she knew that if she truly intended for Kim Possible to be dead, she very likely would have been, and it wasn't through some sort of grudging respect for the younger woman (which she did have, but didn't figure into that particular equation.) No, it was the pure fact that Sherry "Shego" Godfrey was not a killer. Not at least in her sane moments. She could still see the eyes of the man she had done in when she went off the deep end and turned her back on her boyfriend and her brothers at eighteen.

It was the rest of the world that assumed she was an assassin. True, she was muscle for hire, but she considered herself more of a master thief than anything else. Maybe that was why she stuck with Drakken all those years. The only person he wanted her to kill was Kim Possible and even with her, he never said those words. It was never simple 'kill her,' it was 'finish her' or 'feed her to the gators.' Drakken seemed to be just as unwilling to really do something final with her as she was. That gave her a strange feeling in her gut. At the time, she didn't think of it that way. She was just battling her, thinking she was giving it her all.

Doctor Possible was packing up her borrowed gear. "So, what's the deal with…Kim and Stoppable? The _Weekly Sphere_ had something in it about them having some problems."

Anne gave her a strange look. "I wouldn't put too much stock in those things. One of them even had the gall to put that she was having an affair with one of her professors. The kids are doing okay. They've got their problems, but it's nothing that any couple wouldn't have to deal with."

"Yeah, well, I kinda wouldn't have believed that thing about the prof myself. All our…differences aside, I know what Stoppable means to her. It's just, with those other kinds of stories, I just get afraid where there's smoke, there's fire."

Anne sat down on the edge of the bedroom dresser. "I'm surprised you care."

Sherry pursed her lips. "Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? I kung-fu it out with your kid for years, yet the thought something may be going bad between her and Stoppable just sits wrong with me." She sat there silently for a moment. "You ever watch cartoons when you were little?"

The flame haired neurosurgeon just smiled. "I have two boys. Three if you count Ron, I've been seeing cartoons almost constantly since I was a little girl. The only break I got was with Kim, since she doesn't seem to like them very much, unless she's watching them with Ron."

"Well, do you remember the one about the dog and that wolf who looked a lot like the coyote?"

"The one where they punched the clock?"

"Yeah. The way I see it, as long as Kim and I were working on opposite sides, we were enemies, but when I punched the clock at the end of the day, all that stopped. I know that's over-simplifying things, but it's the best way I can describe it. Besides, wouldn't that make you happy? That I'm trying to put my grudge behind me?"

"Miss Godfrey…Sherry. It's going to take a lot more than just words for me to trust you. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm doing this more because of your child than for you, but in the end, it's only your words and your actions I can go by, so yes, it does put me a little more at ease. Just let me remind you. Go back on our agreement and all it takes is one phone call and you're on the run again. Don't know if they would be able to catch you right off the bat, but you are most definitely not on top of your game right now." To make her point she looked down at the younger woman's belly.

Sherry wasn't as petite as Kim, but she was still not a large woman by any means. She was slightly taller, slightly broader at the hips and was a bit more generously endowed up top, but five and half months into her pregnancy and it was very clear she was getting larger. In fact, she hadn't been able to hide it for more than a month and a half now. Perhaps it was a good thing Shego had been replaced with Sherry Godfrey. It was hard enough for a woman in the evil community. There weren't any laws protecting mothers to be, so it was generally considered a sign of weakness to procreate.

"Doc, lemme say this, and don't take it the wrong way, but you're not real good at the blackmail game. Even a year ago, if I was in this position, I'd be thinking about how to take you out when all this was over. Do you know what kind of trouble you could be in for helping me? What if I were to double-cross you? What if the two of us are caught together?"

Anne just raised an eyebrow. "Well, for one thing, if you were to double-cross me? I've left an encrypted file with Wade Load that would be opened if something were to happen to me. It had very precise details about where you can be found and what condition you are in. I know, it's a bit cliché, but I thought it a good precaution to take. Like I said, I don't trust you. I'm not going to trust you. All I'm going to do is help you get through this, for your little girl's sake."

Sherry put a hand on her belly. "I'm impressed. I guess being around the princess…Kim." She quickly amended with a glance from the fiery doctor. " Guess it's rubbing off on you. Still, Doc, you've got nothing to worry about as far as I'm concerned. I might be evil, but I'm a woman of my word. You've got my promise that the war with your daughter is over, finished, kaput. Doesn't mean I won't defend myself if she gets it in her head to come after me, but I'm done with her."

"Fair enough." The two managed to have some form of the same conversation every week when Anne came up to examine her.

She finished putting away her instruments. "Look, at some point we're going to have to rely on some other outside help. We need to have a sample of your daughter's DNA examined. When that happens, it is very likely the person doing the lab work is going to see something strange. There is no telling what changes your own DNA have undergone, considering the physiological changes that go along with your power."

Sherry just nodded her ascent. "I kinda figured something like that. I was just hoping, considering what happened to me the night she was conceived, that she might just be a plain, normal human being. It all depends on whether this goes skin deep." She held up the back of her hand. She had very pale skin, but at least it was a normal color. Her child's father had some sort of healing power, and had used it to change her back to her normal human appearance from before the comet.

When she used her powers, her body was bathed in the strange radiation referred to as her 'Go Team Glow." It turned her entire body green, from mint green skin right down to dark green lips she would normally cover with black lipstick. After Neil died, she learned how to damp down her powers to the point she changed back to that normal appearance, but she still had no idea whether it was a cosmetic change, or something deeper.

The thought she might pass on some form of her powers to her daughter scared her. The comet struck when she was fourteen and it still took a long time for her to come to grips with it. She couldn't imagine how an infant or toddler would handle it, if they even could at all. Her nightmare was the child throwing a temper-tantrum and blasting the whole house down.

"You sure that's safe and all, Doc?"

"Yes. It's a very standard procedure. The baby is in no danger at all."

"No, I don't mean taking the sample itself. What if some do-gooder at the lab sends the results up the line to somebody. What if they match the results up with me. Won't that put both of us at risk?"

"I thought of that. There just might be a solution. Wade Load can run all the necessary tests, and he can be discreet when he has to. After all, he had both Kim and Ron chipped for years before they knew about it. He can keep a secret when it's important enough."

She got up off the end of her bed, pacing the room slowly. "This is so wrong on so many levels. I'm putting my life in the hands of Kim's Mom and her computer geek? What's the world coming to?"

Anne stood up, gathering her bags. "It's your call. Still, it's best to find out as much as we can as quickly as we can."

"Okay, Doc. Bring the stuff you need next week. Just, nobody but Load and you know about this, okay?"

"Deal. Oh, one more thing, I'd lay off some of that crap you've got in the kitchen. Really thought somebody in as good a shape as you are would eat better than that."

Sherry smiled. Not everything in the house was hers. Certainly the older woman could tell she wasn't living alone, but her 'roommate' was always gone when she came. She made sure of that. It was probably a pretty easy guess who shared the house with her, but his room stayed closed and locked while the doctor was around.

"Trust me, Doc, except when I get my cravings, I'm eating stuff that would make a dietician proud."

"Cravings? Please tell me you don't want pickles and ice cream."

She made a terrible face. "Yuck, no. I hate pickles. No, it's more like frozen burritos and pop tarts. Every now and then I just want to curl up with some cold double berry pop tarts and chow down."

Anne nodded as she got ready to leave. "Just don't overdo it."

Sherry followed the doctor to the door. "Tell me something, if it's not too personal. What did you crave when you were pregnant with Kim?"

The doctor smiled softly at her patient. "Fudge Ripple ice cream, cheese quesadillas and my mother-in-law's fried chicken. Same thing with her brothers."

She waved as Anne drove off. Strange how life changes so quickly, she thought.

Idly she swatted at the fly buzzing around her head. _Stupid flies. Cold enough outside for the ski resort to start making snow and we still get flies. Go figure._ She went to the kitchen to find some fly spray, but by the time she came back , it was nowhere to be seen.

_Stupid fly._

* * *

Kim was looking forward to the weekend. The uppermost slopes at the Middleton Ski Lodge were opening up that Saturday and she was eager to get to them. So much so, she had been in the garage the night before going over her snow-board and her other gear. Finally she was going to be able to go up there whenever her schedule allowed, instead of waiting to go on a closely controlled class outing. 

It also meant a weekend away with Ron.

If every cloud had a silver lining, she was certainly finding one following their blowup back in October. Even though they reconciled and talked things out pretty thoroughly, subtle changes in their relationship started cropping up, and most of them were good.

For one thing, Ron seemed a good bit more attentive to her. It was as if he realized he was starting to take their relationship for granted. Even though they spent a great deal of time together all week long, he made sure they went on an honest to goodness date on Friday and Saturday nights, and when they were out on those dates, he became the consummate gentleman.

One thing she was starting to learn about him that she had never suspected before was a subtle old-fashioned streak. In fact, he really was almost a prude about certain things. At first she thought it was something bad, something he was avoiding, but slowly she came to understand it was a deep, profound respect he had for her that drove him to behave that way.

She really enjoyed his attentions all over again. Their private time was nice. Beyond nice. To use one of the words that had been slowly seeping out of her vocabulary, it was 'spankin,' but she found out just how romantic it was to slowly walk through the park, the city or even the campus simply holding hands. They had stuck a balance and their relationship flourished anew because of it.

That didn't keep her from looking forward to some quiet time away from the city with him.

Ron was a little put-out and frustrated himself. The school work was tougher than he had been expecting. He was doing everything he could to hold down a B average. Even the couple days he spent away from class during their last adventure had put him behind, and there was only so much Kim could do to help him. He knew he had to succeed or fail on his own. Help was one thing, but he didn't want anyone, even Kim doing the work for him. He had grown to the point where he knew that.

At least this first semester he was taking mostly core curriculum courses. There was one introductory course centered around his major, but unlike high school home economics, there was no cooking involved. In fact, it would likely be his Sophomore year before he actually saw the inside of the culinary school's kitchens. They were more interested in getting his basic education out of the way first, before gradually shifting toward a specialty. That meant Kim could at least support him in most of his classes.

Her own work was frustrating from another standpoint. Even though she was taking mostly advanced courses, she didn't feel all that challenged. She was holding down a solid A average (calculus was giving her fits, but she had a B in there.) Maybe she was really in the same boat as Ron, getting the basics down before the real work set in.

Ever since the Carrion fiasco, missions had been almost non-existent. There was the odd rescue or support mission, but none of the calls were coming from GJ. She tried putting in a call to Dr. Director, but none of the messages were answered. That made he wonder if Team Possible had been effectively 'fired' but she doubted it. Something was up.

Figuring out what had happened with Carrion was just as frustrating. Wade had been backtracking the computer records, but hadn't really had much useful to say on the subject. It was really weird how he was able to slip away from that prison camp. Her father read the paper from front to back every single day, and it seemed like there would have been some mention of his escape. GJ's silence on the matter wasn't helping much.

Still, there was another silver lining. For the first time in a year, she had been sleeping well without the aid of mild sedatives or having to have Ron at her side. In fact, since their second trip to the cabin, he had been spending almost all his nights at home, with the exception of a night when they didn't get home form a date until two in the morning and he mother had marched him into the guest room. She almost wanted to make an appointment with Doctor Foster to ask if by 'facing her fear' she had conquered it to some degree. All that mattered was the nightmares had stopped.

It also helped that the really nice dreams involving Ron had returned.

She shivered slightly as she made her way across campus, but it was only because of the chill November wind. She bundled her jacket around herself a little tighter. One more class that day and she could let Ron snuggle her and keep her warm. For once in her life, things were all good.

A tiny black form buzzed in the air, just a few yards behind her, multi-faceted eyes watching her every movement.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	18. Part XVIII – It’s All Relative

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XVIII – It's All Relative**

* * *

There was something to be said for being a slacker. For one, nobody really expected anything from you. Oh, there would be plenty of folk getting behind you to push, but in the end if nothing was accomplished, nothing truly unexpected had happened anyway. A true slacker didn't care, and in not caring, was never really disappointed.

Somewhere along the line, Ron Stoppable started caring.

It wasn't like somebody had come along and flipped a switch. No human being could go through life not caring about anything. In the real world, slackers had to pick and choose what they cared about, what they didn't care about and what they cared about but wanted the rest of the world to think they didn't.

Things used to be simple enough for him. He cared about eating, sleeping and Kim, and not in that particular order. Somehow, during the waning days of being a legal minor, all of that had become muddled. Caring about Kim became loving her. Eating was tied up in the more mundane issues of the world. Sleeping became a complex box of tricks he tried not to get into. It wasn't just about his head hitting the pillow and his body shutting down for the night. There was the issue of whether he was getting enough sleep to be healthy. There was the issue of being able to get up in time to get to class, even after being up until two in the morning either studying or doing his homework. There was also the issue about whether he was alone or not. Somehow even that seemed to cloud the issue. It should have been as simple as some nights he could be with Kim, most nights he couldn't.

Then there was the issue of his school work. From Ron's perspective, he was working harder than he ever did in his life. There was so much riding on it, from the large sum of money it cost to go to the school, to his chance of having a real future for himself. Even though Kim would often pay lip service to loving him whether he was still just a do-nothing goof, there was no way he could ever go back to that again.

In short, he cared.

Along with caring came stress. That was the cost. There was stress from his teachers, stress from his family and even stress from Kim. The good thing about being a slacker was being free from such cares. With the proper network of people who cared around them, they would live longer lives, have smoother skin and generally be happier people. Ron just knew that once he actually started caring about more than himself, he could never go back. Happiness was something to be attained, not something that could simply be maintained and along with that came worry. Along with it came the long nights.

Growing up was so not easy.

He sat at his desk, gulping the same black brew that Kim often did. It was well past midnight and he was still busy trying to put together a paper for Barkin's class. There was no way, if anyone had mentioned it even a few months ago, that he would have ever believed he could become a caffeine addict. Yet there he was, putting the finishing touches on an essay, with an Algebra book waiting in the wings for at least two hours of study, all while knowing he had to be on the stoop ready to roll at eight in the morning. If he wasn't, Kim would waste no time mounting the stairs and hurrying him along, no matter what stage he was in getting ready. He tried at first to tell himself that she just wanted a chance to see him just out of the shower or something to that effect, but she was all business in the morning.

Things had been going well between the, as well as could be expected during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Just like High School, almost all his professors were trying to get to some kind of stopping point before the break. Even those few days off…a Fall Break if you will…seemed to only tease. They had the whole week off, which would have seemed like an utter luxury in a public school, but the short few weeks leading up to Hanukah and Christmas were the big push to first semester finals.

Ron knew there were some 'all-nighters' in his near future and they didn't involve making out with Kim.

All except the upcoming weekend.

Friday afternoon, their bags were going to be packed and already loaded in the car. The moment he got clear of his last class they were jumping in and heading up for some badical snow-boarding. As long as their holiday homework load was light enough, they were simply going to blow off the whole world and just spend a weekend to themselves. It was cold enough to light a fireplace and if the mood was right, there could be some very nice romance in the mountain air.

That is, if he could get past an inevitable pop quiz from Barkin and a major test in Algebra, not to mention meeting with his guidance counselor to map out his next three semesters and put in for the classes he would come back to after the holidays. He thought it was going to be just a simple matter of taking the classes called for in the academic standards and doing reasonably well in them. Instead, he was going to have to justify almost all of his choices. He could already see the meeting playing out in his head:

_Mister Stoppable, why have you selected Introduction to business?_

_Um, cause it says right there it's a required course?_

Going through all that once he was a upperclassman, he could see. The class load he was currently taking was simply the foundation, the scut-work he had to get through before he could get to the meat of his education as a culinary master. Then he knew he would have much harder choices and by then it would not all be about just filling in the dots by completing the bare minimum assigned courses.

When it came to straight out studying, he preferred doing that with Kim, either in one of the comfortable study halls on campus or at her house. They could spread out on a table and concentrate quite fully on their work while their feet did other things under the table. Kim was quite accomplished in the fine art of footsie. It really wasn't a distraction either. They were so used to physically touching each other they no longer consciously thought about it, though Ron had a theory that if Kim were allowed into the room while he was taking a test and would run a toe up and down his calf, he would get straight As simply because they were recreating the conditions he was studying under.

There was one fly in the ointment. For some reason, when Ron had to write a paper of five hundred words or more, he couldn't concentrate with Kim in the room. They tried on several occasions, but even if she was on his bed and he was at his desk, with his back to her, he couldn't do it. So, when there was writing involved, he'd let Kim drop him off for the evening, set up camp at his computer, then start to writing.

He really wished he had a five-hundred word report that evening. So much was being sacrificed so he could do his work properly. Even with their planned weekend, he could tell Kim was feeling a little _romantic_. That had become their code word for wanting some private time together. He utterly hated missing out on that, not only because he didn't want to disappoint Kim, but because he really enjoyed it himself. Well, mostly because he enjoyed it. It didn't matter whether it was just some snuggling and kissing or something more, he was down for it.

School work trumped romance every time, however. Kim knew that and the moment he laid his hands on his backpack, yet again another signal they had developed, she dropped it without comment or complaint. In fact, it made her happy that his priorities were in the right place.

That didn't stop her from spending almost twenty minutes kissing him in the driveway.

He looked at the clock and sighed. At least he was in the last stages of the final draft. Twice he printed out the document and had at it with a red pen. He was the type of report writer who had to see it actually printed on paper, rather than onscreen, to catch his errors. The computer itself caught the most egregious problems, but he knew for a fact the grammar function was terrible. Wade may be a genius, but the English language was actually one of his few academic shortcomings. That meant he never actually got around to upgrading his word processor's grammar checking function.

At least since this was a history paper, and therefore going to Barkin, he knew how to do it. He wrote it just as he would speak, with the exception of slang words and phrases. He had grown to believe that long words just made it sound like he was looking down on his readers. He wanted to get his point across using as simple language as he possibly could. Barkin, at least, agreed with that approach, though he did argue with his English professor from time to time over it. His feeling was that if the average person could not understand what he was trying to say, he really didn't understand it fully himself.

Ron stared at the copy on his desk. There were only just a few notes in red this time, so he opened his word processor and made the last few changes. Finally, he printed the document out, pulling his reading glasses off to rub the bridge of his nose. A little sadly, he tried reading the screen without them. Even the year before, he only needed the corrective lenses when he was especially tired, but it was becoming clearer and clearer to him that his astigmatism was getting worse. He needed to get his eyes checked and would likely soon be wearing glasses full time. That, or he would have to undergo laser surgery, a prospect that sent cold chills down his spine.

"Please tell me you're not going to be pulling an all-nighter again, Ronnie." His Mom stuck her head in the door. She was wearing a house coat and was apparently up for the baby.

He blinked back sleep. If CJ had been fussing, he certainly didn't hear it. "Just finishing up a paper, Mom." Throwing his arms up, he stretched, adding an open mouthed yawn. "Guess I'm gonna have to hit the rack and do some quick cramming in the morning."

"Good idea. I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, Mom."

"You and Kim are out of school all week?"

Ron's mouth and the words were spilling out of his mouth before he could consider the reasons for her question. "Sure. We're pretty much free Monday thru Wednesday. Then it's over to Kim's to help her Mom cook the big Thanksgiving dinner we've got planned."

Jean nodded. "Good. Monday we're driving up to Denver so your father's family can see Catherine. Then Tuesday we're going down to Lake Havasu overnight so Gram Rokowski and your Great Aunts can see her. I'd like Kim to come along too."

"Sure, she…" suddenly what his mother just asked him clicked in his head. No, she didn't ask, she simply told him that not only was he going along on the family trip, his fiancé was going as well.

"Mom, you want Kim…Dad's fam? Your Fam?"

"Sure. The two of you have a full week off, I'm sure you'd love a chance to get away. Besides, it's not like it's the only time she's going to meet everyone."

"But Mom, she's already met most of the family."

Jean smiled and shook her head. "I don't think your cousin Reuben's wedding counts. She barely spoke to anybody and who can blame her. She didn't know anybody there except for us, and the focus was on the happy couple anyhow."

Ron just smiled and answered the only way he could. It wasn't a request, it wasn't a question. His mother had pretty much just given him an order he would have to obey as if he were a lowly private and she were a general. The "Family Command" had been given.

As his mother left, headed back to her bedroom, he put his head down on his desk, bouncing his forehead off his algebra book a couple times. This was something he had been dreading, especially since he had proposed to Kim.

This might have ostensibly been about the family meeting its newest, youngest member, but that was just a cover. All the tongues were going to be wagging about the real dirt.

It was time for Kim to meet his family.

Actually, outside of little Shawn, he didn't worry too much about his Dad's family. Sure, there were some real characters there and Reuben's wife, Samantha, still held a little bit of a grudge against Ron for his 'Bad Boy' act at her first attempted wedding reception. For the most part, they were a lot like his father. They were modern and accepting of many things.

What frightened him was his mother's family. Gram wouldn't be any real problem. Kim had met her on several occasions and they had almost gone to her cabin in Arizona for their last spring break. It was his great aunts that gave him pause. He could already see the scene in his head. They would take one look at her, at her red hair, at her green eyes. Then two hateful words would spill out of their mouths…

…_Not Jewish_.

How in this day and age could somebody say something so hurtful? His own mother had come dangerously close to making the same pronouncement when they first started going together, but quickly learned just how important she was to her boy. She made her peace with their differing faiths by thinking of Kim as an 'honorary Nice Jewish Girl.' That wasn't going to fly with the old matrons holding court at Gram's cabin. The only thing he could do now was to prepare Kim for the inevitable, and even then, he knew the disapproving stares, the whispers behind her back were going to hurt. Those women came from another world, another time when much more traditional views held sway.

All that aside, he actually felt a little guilty because of his somewhat lax views on his own religion. There was a time when marrying a gentile would be considered an unpardonable sin. Then too, there was the traditional view that the children would not be Jewish. Ron believed himself to be a moderately religious, moral man, but he didn't keep a lot of the rules that applied to his faith. He didn't even come close to keeping Kosher, nor was he very observant about the Sabbath.

He was sure his great aunts would faint dead away if they knew he regularly went to church with Kim. It was all fair, Kim went to Temple with him just as often. Neither had any intentions of converting, but they still learned quite a bit.

The worst of it, being a 'family' trip, was that beyond the time spent in the car together, the elder Rokowski women were pretty much going to isolate Kim. Oh, they would hide their general disapproval at her faith somewhat, but they were still going to pump her for details about her and her life. It may be an overnight trip, but they might as well have been in separate states that night. It was highly unlikely he would even get the chance to kiss her, let alone curl up in a bed together.

All the more reason to look forward to their weekend trip, a mini-vacation that couldn't come soon enough.

He looked at his Kimmunicator sitting on the desk, wondering if he should take the chance that Kim was still up and call her. He decided against that, one because if she was already asleep he would be disturbing her and two, if she wasn't, they would likely spend the next few hours yapping on them like two lovesick kids. He knew they both needed the sleep, so he slipped out of his battered old house shorts and flopped down on the bed, barely missing Rufus sleeping on his pillow.

Tired as he was, sleep wasn't coming quickly. He wished they had actually taken that trip during spring break. Even though they were seniors, because their birthdays fell during the summer they couldn't go away like many of their classmates had done. Still, they were offered the chance to go to Gram's cabin. It was on a lake, set deep in the woods. To see the place, you would never know that it was in Arizona. Somehow he always thought of the desert when he thought of that state.

Kim had gone there with him once when they were both thirteen. They ended up spending the night sleeping side-by-side in sleeping bags after listening to the aging woman tell them stories of her life in Poland before immigrating to the United States. He didn't know it at the time, but that was the last time they spent the night together like that outside of a mission until they became a couple. Not a wink of sleep was had, unless one counted both of them sacking out in the back of the car for the whole ride home. Instead, the spent the hours of darkness just talking. To the day he couldn't recall exactly what they talked about, only that it was one of the most wonderful trips of his life.

Somehow he felt if they had taken her up on her offer, history could repeat itself. He even wondered if Gram was yet another person who saw what the two of them had together even before they did.

Ron was still thinking about lying on the floor of her cabin, his arms propped behind his head, his legs stuff into the bag, listening to the sound of Kim's voice when he finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	19. Part XIX – Riding in Cars with Stoppable

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XIX – Riding in Cars with Stoppables**

* * *

Kim dozed with her head against the headrest in the back seat of the Stoppable's car. It was the first time she could ever remember riding with Ron's entire family. Sure, she had taken this trip with Ron's Mom when she visited his Grandmother some five years earlier, and had been driven around by her on many occasions, but it was never the entire family. Somehow it was always the opposite sitch. Ron would be along with the whole Possible clan, as if he were part of them all along.

That one trip, they were just best buddies, though there were some special rules that applied when best friends were of the opposite sex. One of those rules said that she was allowed to use Ron as her pillow, so she spent most of that car ride leaning against him, snoozing away the trip, trying to recover some of the sleep she lost when the Stoppables insisted they leave the house at five in the morning. She must have known subconsciously that Ron actually liked it when she did that, especially since he wouldn't move a muscle, and it wasn't because a girl was touching him. Back then she wasn't so much a girl to him, but Kim, or at least she thought that was how they saw each other.

They did the very same thing again, leaving their house just after five. Something in Gene Stoppable's genetic makeup made him want to be extra-early for everything. She could just imagine him waking Ron up at the crack of dawn on their wedding day, saying something like 'Come on, Ron, two hours early for an inter-faith wedding.' That thought set her to smiling as she slept while they drove in the pre-dawn darkness. She could already imagine the scene. Her in a white dress, her bridesmaids dressed in her signature pink. She would have three, though so far she only figured on Monique and perhaps Joss filling those roles. She really didn't have all that many female friends who were close enough. Maybe Tara, though she hadn't even heard from her since she went to that school in Kentucky. She didn't even know if the platinum blonde was still dating Josh Mankey.

More than three and a half years in the future and she was already making her plans.

She apparently wasn't going to have the opportunity to use Ron as a pillow on this trip. When they all piled into Gene's Camry that Tuesday morning, Jean surprised Kim by climbing into the back seat after setting CJ's car seat in the middle. It seemed, as Ron got older, the men would take the front seat while the women rode in the back. It seemed a little odd to her at first, but they all acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She would have to ask Ron about that later when they got a chance to talk privately. For the first thirty minutes or so of the ride she was trying to decide if she was tweaked because it seemed so chauvinistic. Then she just let it be and relaxed. At that point in the ride nobody was talking, except for the little baby sounds CJ made before she fell back to sleep herself.

The decade old Toyota, while being a more advanced design, was actually not quite as comfortable as Jean's even older Pontiac, but Kim preferred the car for other reasons. The old Catalina drank down gas like it was going out of style. That was fine for short trips around town (such as 'parking' at the bluff) but not for a four hour drive. Given her druthers, she would have taken her car since it didn't use any gasoline at all, but the back seat was just a tad too small for two adults and a baby seat. It could have been done, but she was voted down by Ron's parents.

The drive to Denver the day before was quite a bit different. Ron insisted they take separate cars and follow his parents in. It turned out he was planning to take her to dinner at a place not far from Mile-High stadium called, appropriately (and amusingly) _The Mile High Club_. Despite Kim's obvious embarrassment when Ron bought her one of the T-shirts that read "I joined the Mile High Club,' the impromptu dinner date was a welcome reprieve, considering what Kim had to go through with his Dad's family for most of the day.

Reuben's wife, Samantha (or just Sam to Reuben and some of Ron's family) started off the visit glaring at Ron, then, for some unknown reason, turned her ire at Kim, as if she were the one to blame for unleashing the attitudinated, super-evil Ron on her wedding reception. It was probably guilt by association, since they were an official couple this time and weren't constantly specifying they were 'just friends.'

Besides Samantha, Kim was greeted warmly by the family. At least once, as they were introduced, she was sure she heard one of Ron's cousins tell the other "You owe me a buck," as if their protests had fallen on at least one set of deaf ears two years earlier.

It wasn't until mid-day when they all sat down to dinner that the true evil spawn of the Stoppable clan reared his ugly, red-haired head. Kim was openly shocked the first time Ron mentioned his younger cousin. He was deathly afraid of a seven year old. It wasn't until she actually saw the little monster in action that she believed him. How could a seven year old be that evil? Somehow in the intervening two years she started asking that question.

An evil nine-year-old was definitely much worse than she could have imagined.

It all started out simply enough. Since Shawn was the only child, there wasn't a kid's table set up this time. As fate would have it, he was seated right beside her. Actually, at first he was going to be sitting right beside Ron, but Kim just silently switched places, hoping she could create a buffer between the two of them. All that managed to do was make her the target of his childishness.

As the food was being passed around he set his plan into motion. Every dish that came around the table, he would get up out of his chair, walk past both of them and hand it to another relative. Kim just watched, stupefied that the child's mother wasn't saying a single word to correct him. Ron had to pass every dish back to her. She should have been expecting the next as the gravy boat made its way around.

"Oops." He said out loud as the hot gravy soaked into Kim's lap, she had been paying attention to the potatoes and was very, very thankful it wasn't any hotter than it already was. She excused herself from the table and went to clean herself up. At least she was wearing black slacks and the wouldn't show the stain too badly, though she would have to deal with it the rest of the day.

Shawn was nowhere to be seen when she came back to the table. Maybe his mother had finally done something to discipline the little monster. She pulled her chair out just enough to sit down…and promptly landed on her butt as the seat was several feet further back. The little brat had hidden under the table and shoved the chair just as she was trying to sit.

Embarrassed half to tears, Kim just sucked it up and tried to ignore the child, wishing they still had a working version of the Attitudinator to use on the brat. Still, she didn't think sticking the helmet on the child at the family dinner table would go over any better than just yelling at him.

Actually, as it went on and on, she felt all the much more like yelling at Ron's aunt. It was as if she were content to let the little monster run rampant his whole life.

At one point Ron turned white as a sheet. It was pretty obvious why. Shawn's pet iguana had crawled up into Ron's lap and was staking out his bulging cargo pocket, just waiting for Rufus to show his little pink head. Iguanas were supposed to be herbivores, but it was obvious this one was trained to at least attack small animals. With a slight growl, Kim picked the green lizard up and handed it to its owner.

_This is all just a test_ Kim told herself as she struggled through the meal. I can get through this. _I can do anything! and that includes getting through this without blowing up at this vile little brat!_

Their supper out later that night would have been better if she hadn't spent the whole meal griping about the family dinner. At least there she was able to enjoy her steak without playing defense. Rufus was able to come out as well, eating more than half the fried onion flower thing.

Ron just talked her down, deliberately shifting the subject of their conversation to their weekend.

The skiing had been less-than-spectacular, but it was fun nonetheless. Only two of the slopes were open and the conditions weren't as good as they could be. With none of the longer trails open, they had to content themselves with constantly riding the lifts for the short run down the mountain. Neither of them could wait for high-winter when the whole area would be blanketed with snow, allowing them the chance to really get back into the hills, perhaps even to find DNAmy's abandoned lab again.

The main event of their trip really wasn't the snowboarding, but the chance to first curl up together, sipping hot cocoa in front of the raging fire in the main lobby. The place was nearly empty on Friday night, since they weren't expecting much of a crowd until the next day, and even then most of them would only be up there for the day. The lodge was quiet and cozy and the couch they staked out was so deep and soft they found themselves feeling like they were totally alone. That was perfectly fine with both of them, since Kim liked to experience first-hand exactly how good Ron was at kissing. Even then, she decided he needed practice, and she was a particularly demanding coach.

By eleven that night they finally made it back to their room. It wasn't anything fancy, but it did have a small gas-powered fireplace with a love-seat facing it. They took turns changing into their night clothes in the small bathroom and curled up once more in front of the fire. Even though they had been somewhat more adventurous together in the past, simpler romance seemed to suit them that evening. That, and the fact that after classes all morning, skiing most of the late afternoon and tender kissing during the evening, they were just about beat. It was two in the morning when she woke up on the small couch and pulled Ron to bed. She wasn't even sure if he even woke up.

If it had been mid-winter, they both would have been ripped by the weather the next day. The temperature soared up into the fifties, which was nothing short of a heat wave that high in the mountains. That wasn't the worst of it. The day dawned gray, with a light mist coming down. Kim had been up at sunrise, took one look at the sky and settled back down into bed to indulge in some well-earned lollygagging. They didn't have to check out until the next day and if there wasn't going to be any skiing, then there wasn't any good reason not to simply take it easy for a change.

They even decided to forego breakfast. For Rufus, they had a bag of nacho chips, so he didn't complain while they gave each other very, very extensive back rubs. As the rain picked up, so did the heat in their room. The tender romance of the night before gave way to some serious making out. They did go out for lunch, but they had dinner brought in. They ended the evening going back to bed fairly early, though they still fell asleep quickly. Ron was just in his long pajama bottoms and Kim was wearing his black and white sweatshirt…and both were wearing smiles.

Kim opened her eyes. She had no idea how long she had been napping, but the morning sun was fully up. The highway was fairly non-descript, lacking any significant landmarks to tell her how far they had driven. Checking her watch, she noted it was half past seven. They were roughly halfway there.

Almost immediately she realized the deeper reason for the seating arrangement in the car. Ron and his Dad were chattering on and on about none other than football. If it were spring and summer, she was sure the subject would have been baseball. If there was one thing the two of them didn't connect on, it was sports, especially the two aforementioned contests of athleticism. She knew if she actually did try to play either, she would probably find a well to excel. She knew absolutely nothing about Soccer when her father asked her to coach her brother's little league team three years earlier, but after just a couple days of study, she found she could play the game like a veteran. She had absolutely no clue how she was able to pick up that kind of skill so quickly, it was just something she did.

If baseball wasn't so ever-loving boring!

Still, watching father and son yammering on and on about a ball game filled her with contentment. Ron rode in the front with his Dad because that was how the two of them connected. There were many times with Kim feared she was the only focus at all in Ron's life, that he was drifting away from his family. There always seemed to be some kind of distance there, making her fear he was becoming so close to her family to compensate. Now it was clear it wasn't a lack of closeness, it was just a different dynamic at work.

"I always thought you were a morning person, Kim." Jean whispered, leaning forward past the baby seat that separated the two women.

Kim rubbed her eyes lightly, yawning. "Actually, I usually am, but getting up at four this morning, after getting in from Denver past eleven. Not a word was said when the two of them crashed in his bed. They were both sound asleep in the tiny bed before the covers settled down around them. Perhaps if the elder Stoppables had been up, they might have suggested Ron take the couch, but since the two had spent the last two nights together, what was one more, especially when it was obvious the two of them would be separated during their overnight stay with Gram.

"Serves the two of you right. Just another reason you weren't going to be the one doing the driving today." She chided with a slight smile.

Stretching slightly, as much as she could in the cramped space in the back of the small car, Kim finally sat up a little straighter in the seat. "Actually, I've gotten into the habit of catching forty winks whenever I'm traveling. Helps to pass the time."

Jean laughed softly. "I would have thought you and Ronnie would have other ways of passing the time."

Kim blushed slightly. "Sometimes. It's not like we spend every waking moment together making out."

"Really? You could have fooled me." Jean smiled broadly, letting Kim know she was just ribbing her. "Kim, I really wanted to apologize for yesterday."

"Jean, really, it's no big. Shawn is just…spirited."

"Feh. That boy's the spawn of Satan. Him I'm not so worried about, though why you didn't just jerk a knot in his tail, I'll never understand. You don't strike me as being that patient."

Kim shook her head. "Sometimes when you're babysitting, you have to be, or else things will just get out of hand. At least with Shawn I had the benefit of knowing by the end of the day I'd be a little more than a hundred miles away from him and I could potentially get away with not seeing him for another two years."

"Don't get your hopes up too high, Kim. For all intents and purposes, you're part of this family now. You do know they're all coming to our house for the Seder next spring."

"Oh boy." Kim muttered.

"I think the word you're looking for is Oy Vey." Jean corrected.

She blushed again. "I didn't, well…"

"It's okay, Kim. You're not going to offend us using that word. We're not exactly the most Jewish of Jews in the first place. That's something I need to talk to you about."

"Really?"

"You've met my mother."

"Yes ma'am."

"Well, as you know, she's kind of, well, unconventional."

"She was nice."

"Kim, she was kind of a hippy. She might have been born in Poland, but she was in her thirties during the sixties, and even if that seemed a little old, she picked up on a lot of it. Thing is, as odd as she turned out, her three sisters…weren't. How much has Ron told you about what's going to happen today?"

"He warned me they're going to make a big issue about me not being Jewish."

Jean nodded seriously. "My aunts try to make a pretense of living in a modern world, but there are some things they cling to fervently. They gave me a ton of grief when I married Ron's father, because he's a Reform Jew. That's why we seem so…for lack of a better word, Waspy. The only difference between us and you is we go to Temple on Saturday."

"So, you're saying I'm about to meet a bunch of old fashioned Jewish ladies?" Kim suddenly had a mental image of a gaggle of old Italian matrons. She knew that probably wasn't a fair comparison, but that was all she had to work with. Certainly they wouldn't be near cartoon characters like the older family members on that show about the Jewish woman working as a nanny for an English family.

Could they?

"Kim, there's not getting around the fact you're a gentile. Aunt Ida is probably never going to forgive any of us for letting Ron get engaged to you."

She put a hand to her mouth. "I didn't know."

Jean shook her head at the younger woman. "Listen, don't you ever fret about that. What matters is how much Ron loves you. Sure, there are some issues with religious law, but I think what's best for my little boy is you, so I'm confident we can get past all of that, but like I already said, you're part of this family, even if it's not legally binding yet. You're going to have to deal with these folks from time to time, even if they disown you."

Kim frowned again, not liking the prospect of being disowned before she even met these people.

"Listen, like I said, I think Ida is a lost cause. Freda, eh, she might warm up to you. Just remember, Gram already likes you. We already like you. That's what's important."

"I'll try to remember that." Kim reached out and squeezed her future mother-in-law's hand.

"There's one other thing." The older woman said seriously.

"What's that?"

Jean frowned deeply, then looked Kim straight in the eye.

"You're going to have to cook for them."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	20. Part XX – The House of Drakken

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XX – The House of Drakken**

* * *

Drew Lipsky, better known as Doctor Drakken, did not like going to the store. Actually, unless it was Karaoke night, he didn't like going out at all. That meant being around people and when you got right down to it, he didn't like being around most people. Sure, he craved recognition and respect but that didn't mean having to be surrounded by the people who would give him that, at least not up close. Once upon a time he relied on his henchmen to do that. There, he called them henchmen! Let that overpriced pompous piece of work Jack Hench sue him now! The roll of bills in his pocket was all the money he had to his name. What good is suing somebody who really didn't have anything to take? With the majority of his equipment now long gone, there was little, if anything they could take from him any more. Even that small wad of cash he had with him wasn't really his. It had been handed to him so he could go buy groceries and a few other odds and ends.

Those odds and ends utterly gave him the creeps.

At least relatively few people paid him any attention. It took him half an hour to cover up all his blue skin with makeup, and even then it made his face itch, more so than it did regularly anyway. He still didn't know what he was going to do when it got warmer. It was the middle of November and there was already snow on the ground. He'd have to ask why it was they had to live so close to that thrice-cursed Middleton. Why couldn't they live somewhere warmer? (and a tad further away from his mother!)

Why couldn't they live where they didn't run the chance of running into Kim Possible? Granted, he had no idea that his nemesis avoided _Smarty Mart_ and _Bullseye_ like the Plague, so he managed to look over his shoulder every so often, expecting to see those glittering green eyes and that shining auburn hair, along with a cadre of Global Justice agents ready to haul him in.

Even though he hated going out shopping he felt relatively safe in the gigantic discount store. With his blue skin under wraps, his ponytail tucked into his collar and a baseball hat on, nobody paid him any mind. With shabby jeans (bad shabby, not stylish shabby) and a flannel shirt all wrapped up in a light autumn jacket he didn't exactly cut an imposing figure as he would have in his dark blue lab gear. Then again, that was the point, wasn't it? What good would it do him or the one who had sent him on this errand if the authorities were aware Doctor Drakken, Mad Genius and near ruler of the world was doing some light grocery shopping at the local discount retailer?

Wandering through the frozen foods section he checked the list. He wasn't about to screw this up. It was bring home the right things or don't come home…period. He looked at the immaculately printed list and scowled.

"Bueno Nacho-To-Go frozen Chimiritos? Arrgh! You'd think that's the last thing we would have in our freezer!" He growled, scanning the brightly colored boxes. Finding the right section, he reached in and grabbed a box. His scowl grew deeper when he saw the graphics printed on it. There, grinning like a dad-gummed fool was Possible's buffoon sidekick, dressed in faux Mexican clothes, a floppy sombrero and a cheap fake mustache. Grumbling he threw the box into his cart.

"Say my name." He mumbled to himself a couple times. Then he stopped and thought about it. What was the little buffoon's name anyway? Little? No, not so little any more. He'd seen his picture on one of the tabloids the last time he'd been in here. Something about Kim Possible getting engaged to him. (Drakken wasn't aware they had been engaged since summer, it was only recently they'd sent out a press-release after becoming aware another tabloid was about to break the story anyway.) The kid was half a head taller than Kimberly Anne now, probably as tall as he was if he'd ever stand up straight. It was also a lot harder to call him a kid, though Drakken was quite old enough to be his father. He was still skinny but somehow he looked like a man instead of the child he always thought of him as.

He grumbled quietly to himself. The world outside was passing him by. The buffoon was growing up and was actually going to marry Possible. All the while he was no closer to his dream of taking over the world.

No. That was not going to be happening now. Priorities had shifted. All take-over-the-world ventures had been put on hold, though whether that was temporary or permanent, he still didn't have a clue.

"Blueberry and banana cheesecake ice cream?" he scratched his head under the cap. Maybe it was better if he was going to wear a hat to leave the toupee off. No, scratch that. There was only one person in his life who knew he wore a 'hair system' and that was a gracious plenty. "Do they even make such a flavor? Gross." He muttered as he searched out the ice-cream section. Normally she couldn't get enough of Edy's Fudge Ripple but lately her tastes had been running wild. Somehow he always imagined her as a mint chocolate chip type himself.

The flavor actually existed, which surprised him though it was one of those brands that came only in pints, so he had to get several of them to last at least a few days.

Drakken scanned the list, half expecting to see pickles there as well. Weren't pregnant women supposed to crave pickles and ice cream? Disgusting frozen Tex-Mex, freakish ice cream flavors and grotesque purple pop-tarts were bad enough.

He sighed slightly thinking about Shego. She was going pure nuts at home, virtually confined there despite her seeming good health, in the second trimester of her pregnancy. She had been told it was fine to go out by a here-to-fore unseen doctor she had been sneaking in to see her. How she managed to find a competent doctor without alerting the authorities looking for the two of them he had no idea.

Despite all his grumbling about the awful food on her list, thinking about her made him feel somewhat better. Sure, she was home, waiting to deliver a baby by a man she loved but who was now deceased but that didn't change the way he felt about her. Those feelings didn't become obvious to him until he nearly lost her.

In a way, he loved her.

It wasn't romantic love. He knew that was out of the question anyway. Not only was her just over twenty years older than her, he had no illusions about how the younger woman saw him. What he felt was somewhere between friend and family. There was a sense of protectiveness involved, especially now that she was in a her delicate condition.

All thoughts of being a sort of father figure to her aside, he did find himself looking at her a bit differently than he used to. For one thing, he noticed, probably for the first time, that she was actually a very beautiful woman. Even with the extra pounds she had put on recently he still felt that way. Sometimes she would notice him looking at her. Most of the time, she just glared at him. She may have turned her back on her criminal past as much as she could, but she was still Shego. Still, every now and then she would smile softly at him.

Probably just hormones, he told himself as he went down the list. Aside from his nearly undetectable false hair and his perfect teeth, he knew he was far from being an attractive man, and she liked hotties. Young hotties at that. The father of her unborn child had been only a few months older than her and judging from the few pictures she had of him, was a decent enough looking fellow, though a little soft around the middle. He had to count himself lucky that she now let him call her his friend.

He decided to risk Shego's ire by adding a bottle of Cocoa syrup and a jug of milk. He had to eat too, and that meant having a good supply of Cocoa Moo fixins. She was much more prone to drink diet soda and iced tea, since she wasn't allowed to drink the expensive imported beer or the Long-Island Iced Teas she normally liked. Maybe if he could just remember to call it simply chocolate milk she wouldn't go off on him.

For some reason, Shego getting on his case hurt worse than it used to. Maybe it was simply boredom on his part. Really, he had nothing to do but play handyman around the house. She wasn't about to let him tap into her resources to build any new doomsday devices, even if he had no intention of using them any more. It was what he did, and he was missing it. That, and he felt somehow defenseless without motion detecting pulse cannons, security beams and the like. The two of them living like semi-normal people in a non-descript little house halfway up Mount Middleton made him feel naked, like any one of his many enemies were about to break down the door and haul him back to that horrible place in Mississippi where they had been holding him.

He almost couldn't take another day of that. So far the best way they had come up with to determine if he was still the real Drew Lipsky was to literally draw blood every day. They didn't stop with piercing his skin either. They were constantly running checks on his DNA. Oh, if he had access to a real lab, he could quickly figure out ways to defeat such simple tests, but the closest thing he had to a lab was a table in his room where he would put model airplanes together.

At least there was some small benefit to having such tiny hands.

If he were a real self-help doctor like his mother thought he was, he would have long ago told himself that he needed to get away. This wasn't a new life, it was just hiding out from his old one. That he stayed was just part of his denial. What good was he really doing except to be a step-and-fetch for her. Once the baby came and she was back on her feet full time, he would be stripped of even that. There was no way she was ever going to settle down in one place. It would be too dangerous. If there was any one thing he knew about her, it was that she would do almost anything to protect her child. She was going to be mother bear with a cub. That meant a life constantly on the go, staying one step ahead of Global Justice, the FBI, Mossad and any one of hundreds of organizations who would like to have the trophy of bringing her to justice.

He hated that for her. It really didn't matter he was in the same boat as her. The child would be born and he would be cast adrift, possibly never to see them ever again. What was holding him to her? He should simply load up the battered pickup truck he was using and disappear. Then she wouldn't be able to tell him not go build anything. She wouldn't be there to scream whenever he said the words 'cocoa moo.'

She wouldn't be able to break his heart when she left.

Still, he was as much a creature of habit as he ever was. He would finish the shopping, go home, put away the groceries and try to talk to her. More like talk at her, since her face was buried in a magazine constantly. At least she had switched from her usual fashion magazines to stuff about babies.

Then again, that's were she was getting the notion to buy all that stuff that was giving him the creeps.

Somehow she knew she was having a girl. Some amino-something or other test. Much as he was a high-tech genius inventor (when he wasn't 'outsourcing') he was a bit old-fashioned. It just seemed wrong to know exactly what sex the child would be before it came.

No, that wasn't quite right. He could just imagine being ordered to paint the nursery blue, then have to turn around and paint it pink. Still, he hedged his bets and painted the room light purple. That would be fitting, considering she already had the girl's name picked out.

_Amethyst._

He rolled his eyes slightly at that one. The kid certainly wasn't going to be born in February, so that wouldn't be her birthstone. The only reason he could come up with for the name was because that was the stone set in the ring she wore on a chain. She never, ever took that necklace off. He was sure she even bathed with it, though he made certain he had no chance of accidentally walking in on her. He had seen firsthand how quickly she could fire up her powers and he knew quite well how much she missed using them.

Drakken almost had to close his eyes when he found himself in the baby section. Fortunately she had the exact brand and model picked out for him. If things got too bad, he'd just find somebody and ask for it by pointing it out on his list. He tried desperately not to think what a 'breast pump' really was. He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted it right off the bat. He quickly dropped it into his basket as if he were handling a live electric eel.

Somehow he managed to get through the line without exploding. It was just one more time he wished he could simply walk up to somebody, demand an audience with the manager and ask why on Earth they bothered having over fifty registers if only four or five of them were going to be open at a time. At least he had the tabloids to keep him company. Well, except for the fact that on two of them there were grainy pictures of Kim Possible and the buffoon dressed to the nines on a date somewhere. Ever since the engagement hit the papers, they had at least some mention on the cover. Drakken couldn't escape those two even in the checkout lane.

He muttered and grumbled all the way back up the mountain. The battered Nissan was too small to haul much of anything and the heater didn't work well. At least it had heat, which was more than he could say for his open-topped flying cars. Still, what would have taken five minutes flying took over forty-five on the surface roads.

Even unlocking the door made him curse slightly. There was an electronic security pad, but he still had to use and old fashioned key to open the heavy wooden door, all the while trying to hold onto the flimsy plastic bags. The thought of making several trips to the truck never even occurred to him.

The house was quiet. Even her blasted fluffy black cat was sound asleep…in his chair, of course. There was no way he was going to risk throwing the temperamental feline out of his recliner. He liked his blood right where it was. That is, inside his skin.

And his one-time henchmen thought Commodore Puddles was evil! Field Marshall Furball would take that little pink fuzz ball down in one swipe of her mighty claws.

The house seemed too quiet to him. "Shego?" He tried a couple times calling her by her birth name, but that just didn't stick with him. He started checking the rest of the house. Finally, he even risked a look in her bathroom. The entire place was deserted.

He frowned, then shrugged as he went into the kitchen to fix a large glass of fresh Cocoa Moo.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	21. Part XXI – Water Water Everywhere

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XXI Water Water Everywhere**

* * *

In the intervening five years, Kim had forgotten just how far back in the woods Ron's Grandmother, Ruth Jean Rokowski, or Gram as most of the family called her, lived. It seemed like they had been on the one-lane dirt road for at least half an hour. Of course, she had visited many people who lived further from the main highway, including scientists who lived in tree houses in South America, but it always amazed her that somebody would want to live so far from civilization.

Poor economy aside, she wished they were in a SUV instead of a compact sedan. The road was better suited to 4 wheeler ATVs than a family car. Even Jean's old Catalina with its big wheels and deeps, smooth suspension had a better time than the little Toyota did.

Kim was also wishing she hadn't had three cups of coffee when they stopped for croissants at Burger Prince earlier that morning. She knew better than to ask for a rest stop. For one thing, Gene was a 'drive straight through' type of man. For another, Ron would have used the opportunity to bring up some of the more embarrassing things her parents revealed when they went on the ski-trip their sophomore year in high school. Being the love of his life did not exempt her from certain forms of ridicule.

As they rounded a bend, they picked up their first view of the lake poking through the trees. Kim's impression of the pristine body of water was that it looked a lot like Lake Middleton, though it was actually a natural lake rather than a man-made reservoir. Save for the missing backdrop of distant mountains, she would have sworn they were the same place. Earlier in the drive, when they had turned off the two-lane paved highway on to the gravel track, Kim had been looking forward to spotting the water. That meant they were close to the house. Unfortunately, the sight of all that liquid, coupled with the sloshing of her bladder, did not make her the most comfortable young woman in the car.

_Look at you, CJ. If you want to go, you just go and we're the ones who change you._ She looked at the infant with an arched eyebrow, envying the child. She would have believed herself a civilized person, until the pressure is on. At that moment, she wouldn't have minded having a great big diaper on herself.

She also envied Ron a little bit. Instead of coffee or juice he ordered a king-sized cola. If he needed to 'take care of business' he wasn't letting on. Maybe he hadn't even noticed yet. Normally, if you mentioned it to him, he would have to go. Instead, there he was with what had to be almost half a gallon of cola. He even downed the sickly melt-water left from his ice. The only person she had ever seen put away more liquid refreshment than him was Wade, and for all she knew, he had computer consoles set up in his bathroom.

_Ick. Mind on something else, Kimberly Anne, mind on something else._

There wasn't much else to keep her mind on. Every washed out rut, every bump in the road sent another twinge through her bladder. How was it that the girl who could save the world, who climbed Mount Everest, who swam the English Channel…

_Ug. More water._

It wasn't like she was going to be able to run right inside the moment they arrived either. Yes, the purpose of the trip was for the family to see Catherine Jean, but there would only be a short, intense burst of the old ladies (and one great uncle) oohing and ahhing over the baby. In short order, they would turn their attention to the real purpose for this trip.

They were going to determine if Kimberly Anne Possible was a suitable bride for the only marriageable member of their extended family.

Kim couldn't get the image of a trio of overweight, elderly Italian women dressed all in black with prayer beads, crossing themselves at the sight of a slender young woman in her showy dress. It didn't matter she had the most conservative thing she owned, her navy blue, mid-calf length dress on. Even with her hair pulled back in a demure ponytail and her light sweater jacket, she fretted that she looked like some kind of Hollywood tramp. She kept trying to reassure herself that wouldn't be the case. Gram Rokowski, or Gram R as Ron called her, was a carbon copy of her daughter, save that her hair had turned snow white and she wore cola-bottle thick glasses the last time she saw her. The woman was a bit of an eccentric, dressing more like a gypsy than a family matron.

Jean tried to prepare her for what she was facing as best she could. Ida Larkowski was the oldest, and therefore the family matriarch. She was very traditional in her views and was given to berating her younger siblings in Polish. That worried Kim a little. She knew only the little bit of Hebrew she had picked up going to Temple with Ron, and just a few common Yiddish words. That never bothered her, since the only time she heard any of the Stoppables speaking Hebrew was during services at their synagogue. The only Yiddish she ever heard them use was 'Oy' and she was more disposed to use that than they were. She didn't know a word of Polish, and Jean was of no help there either since she only knew a few phrases, and some of those she told the younger woman she was not going to teach her.

Freda Goldman was the middle sister. She was traditional as well, but supposedly a little more modern than her elder. Apparently her choice of marrying a non-polish Jew didn't sit well with her older sister, making Kim wonder what had befallen Jean since Gene Stoppable was of a more Western European heritage. It seemed Kim's best chance of winning over the sisters lay in impressing at least her since it was supposed Aunt Ida would be a lost cause.

They turned off the gravel road onto an even narrower road that was little more than a pair of tire-worn tracks cutting through the woods. The trees were just sparse enough that grass was growing in the middle of the track. Apparently there was enough traffic to keep it from becoming overgrown. That only lasted a few hundred yards before they pulled up to a neat white picket fence with roses.

The 'cabin' was only that in name only, mainly since that's what Ron always called it that.. It was more of a large cottage made of white clapboard. It sat all alone on the eastern shore of the nameless lake, with a small dock stretching about a hundred feet out into the water. Kim smiled, remembering the night she went 'skinny-dipping' with him when they were thirteen. At least, that's what they said they did. Instead of being in the buff they were both wearing cut-off jeans, thinking they were actually getting away with something since it was just past midnight at the time. Ron didn't even notice (or at least let on that he noticed) her t-shirt clinging to her when Gram R came running out to chase both of them back into the house.

Kim froze that smile on her face. She knew she would need it, especially since she didn't insist Gene stop at that gas station before they turned off the main road.

As she reached for the door handle, Jean put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Let the boys open our doors for us."

"Oh." Kim was just breaking out in perspiration. She hadn't even met the aunts yet and she was already about to commit a minor faux pas. She glanced out the window. The sun was as high as it was going to get, casting just enough glare to keep her from seeing in the windows of the home. When she was there before, Gram R had come charging out of the house as fast as she could on her cane to see her little grandson and his best friend. This time, nobody had appeared to greet their arrival.

Ron got out and immediately opened his mother's door, climbing in to help his mother disconnect the baby carrier from the car seat. CJ just sat there gurgling at her older brother, reaching for his blonde bangs. She had grown so much in the two and a half months since she was born and it was clear she was one hundred percent pure Stoppable. At first she had a shock of brown hair and her eyes seemed blue. A few short days later her eyes started changing and her hair had been getting lighter ever since. A faint smattering of freckles danced across her face, though none were as dark as the six very prominent ones on Ron. Even at two and half months old, Kim could tell she was going to have huge ears. They were already standing out from her head. From time to time she wondered what she would look like by the time she was his age and as much as she liked the way all that looked on him, well, maybe she'd grow out of some of it.

Kim was wondering where Gene was just as the trunk popped open. He busied himself getting the baby bag and their overnight bags out of the trunk while Ron made his way around to her door. The moment her strappy sandals hit the gravel of the driveway, the door to the house swung open, disgorging three very different looking women.

She found her heart was in her throat as Jean Stoppable's mother and aunt's approached. Ruth Jean Rokowski was in the lead. Apparently her arthritis wasn't acting up as bad as it had been five years ago, as she was moving without her cane. Save for that, she looked exactly as she remembered the woman. She was slender and perhaps a couple inches shorter than her child. Her white hair was considerably longer, drawn into a single, unadorned ponytail. She was wearing a long, tiered skirt and a hand-knitted shawl of some sort. All she needed was a bandana tied on her head to complete the gypsy image Kim remembered from her early teens.

The other two were not the aging Italianate matrons she had been expecting. It was unclear which of the two were which, considering she had never knowingly seen a picture of them. Both were considerably larger than their younger sister, though not fat.

Ron came over to stand beside her while they fawned over the infant. "You've got a little bit of a break before they even notice you." He whispered without looking at her. She felt his hand wrap around hers, giving it a light squeeze. She returned the hand-hug, trying to get her heart and breathing under control.

The first aunt, a squarely built blonde woman of indeterminate age picked the child up out of the carrier, cradling her in her arms, cooing at the child. CJ chose that moment to start crying for the first time since her last feeding. It wasn't the plaintive wail of a hungry baby, but a frightened, continuous howl that seemed to reach down into her, tugging at her heart. She had only rarely babysat a child that young, but every time that happened she felt it was her duty to find out what would bring the screaming to an end.

The other aunt, were it not for her attempt at stylish clothing, would have looked at home in one of those scenes of stereotypical Eastern European women she always saw on TV and in the movies. In fact both of the older women were wearing tasteful clothing that somehow seemed out of place on them. There was something strikingly familiar about the two of them, but she couldn't quite place it.

Her heart jumped back into her throat as Jean took CJ back and placed her into the carrier. The moment she was back in her mother's hands, she stopped her wailing, though she kept blubbering very slightly. Ron stepped forward, pulling on her hand slightly before letting go.

"Aunt Ida," Ron nodded toward the blonde. "Aunt Freda. This is my fiancé, Kim Possible."

Kim's heart jumped into her throat as she shook hands with the two women. They were all smiles, but she could tell they were looking her up and down. Freda was about her height and Ida was perhaps a couple inches taller, but they seemed to tower over her. Suddenly she felt like a frightened little girl in their presence.

"I have seen you on TV." Ida said pleasantly. She had a faint accent, with just a touch of New York thrown in, making her think that was where she either lived, or had lived for a large portion of her life.

"I thought you would have been taller." Freda said with a smile.

"I'm so pleased to meet you." Kim finally got out. Despite the distraction, the pangs in her bladder were getting worse by the moment. Mentally gritting her teeth, she bore on with the almost ritualistic examination.

Almost immediately, Ida reached for Kim's left hand. Kim gulped, silently thanking Jean for her suggestion that Ron let her wear the engagement ring for the trip. It almost made her sad to think she would have to give it back, at least temporarily, no matter what she thought the surprise surrounding it would be.

She eyed the ring as if she were a jeweler inspecting an item in her stock, making Kim wonder if that was what she once did for a living, or perhaps what her late husband had done.

"At least the boy has good taste in jewelry." She said once she let her hand go.

Freda took her turn examining the ring. "Hmmm. A little small, though I guess that's what we should expect considering his father is such a cheapskate."

Kim glanced nervously at Gene, though he seemed unconcerned at the cut. Maybe he was used to it, or perhaps he had given up trying to impress his wife's aunts long ago.

Ida looked her up and down. "My, you are a skinny little young thing. Do your parents not feed you?"

"I…I've got a pretty active lifestyle. It pays to keep in shape."

"Saving the world's good for that." Ron added helpfully.

The older woman seemed not to notice her grandnephew at all. "You're going to wish you had some meat on your bones when the babies come."

"Oh, don't mind these two." Gram R reached for Kim and gave her a big hug. "I knew the two of you belonged together." She let go of Kim and hugged her grandson. As if that were some sort of pre-arranged signal, the two older sisters went back to fawning over the baby.

"Look at the two of you. All grown up, getting married." She looked Ron over, looking up and up at him. "I would have never imagined you would get so tall. You're almost as tall as Saul was. I'm so glad you got his genes." She turned her attention back to Kim. "So, how soon are the two of you going to do it?"

Kim gulped, then realized she was speaking of the wedding. "Not for a while yet. We wanted to get through college first, Mrs. Rokowski."

"Dear, you can call me Gram. Didn't we go through this the last time you were here? Don't let my sisters bother you, you're family." She leaned closer, giving them a conspiring whisper. "Why don't the two of you wander off for a little bit. I'm sure those old bitties are going to be all tied up with my newest grandchild for the next couple hours." She wandered back to the baby herself. This time when CJ was picked up, she didn't start crying again.

"Well, KP? What do you think?"

She growled just slightly. "I think I've just been insulted twice, and your father once in the space of two minutes."

Ron ran a hand down his face. "That's one of the good things about my great aunts living back east. Aunt Ida can't stand Dad. Once she gets going, she'll call him a whole bunch of things in Polish I'm glad I don't understand. Notice he hasn't said one word to her yet?"

"Uh huh. Ron, your Mom said I'm going to have to cook for them. What's that all about?"

He grimaced very slightly. "It's kind of a Mom's family thing. Don't get all tweaked about it or anything, but when it's time for dinner, all the women are expected to work in the kitchen, while the men all sit in the den watching TV or something."

"How quaint." She said dryly.

"Just stick to easy stuff. Mom knows about your cooking and all."

"She does? I wonder who told her about that." She shot him a sharp glance while a hand went to her hip.

"KP, all of Middleton and half of Upperton know better than to let you within twenty feet of the kitchen. It's just basic survival stuff."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence there, Ron." She sighed. "Maybe I should just take Gram's advice and just disappear for a little while. Maybe we could go for a walk, you know, let them see CJ for a little while."

Ron frowned, looking at the gaggle of women making baby noises at the disinterested infant. "Nah, NG. Don't let them fool you for a second. They may look like they're all over my sister right now, but every eye is on you."

"Great." She moaned. All she could think of at the moment was the insistent pressure in her lower half. If this went on any longer, she was going to have to make a break for the house or head into the woods. She could just imagine what that would look like to them. _Ron's got a real good one there, real mountain woman._

Gene finally came back from taking the luggage into the house and stood with his wife. Kim watched as Freda spoke with him briefly. Ida just acted as if he wasn't even there. Normally he was such a powerful presence. At home he was the true leader of his family. Here, he apparently was just the black sheep, good for nothing save the fact he fathered the currently apparent object of their attention.

"How long are we going to have to stand out her like this?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Just a bit more. What's wrong?"

"Remember how long ago breakfast was?"

"Yeah."

"Remember how much coffee I had? Notice were a hundred feet from a lake? A lake filled with water? Water I can hear lapping against the dock?"

Ron looked at her quizzically for a moment, then realized what she was saying. A grin started spreading across his lips.

"Ron, if you mention anything to do with water, I'm not the only one who's going to be embarrassed by what happens next."

"Not saying anything, KP. Just, you're going to have to race me when we finally get inside."

"You are so not going first." She couldn't take it any more. As if they had a mind of their own, her feet started moving toward the house.

Kim almost broke into a run as she headed inside, not caring about the confused expressions from the matrons outside. It was all she could do not to let out a long moan of relief when she finally sat down.

_Great first impression to make there, Possible._

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	22. Part XXII – Sweet Dumplings

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XXII Sweet Dumplings**

* * *

Kim felt more than a little bit strange in Gram R's kitchen. About four in the afternoon all the women trooped into there and tied on aprons right over whatever they were wearing. Each one of them seemed to know their roles, leaving her to feel literally like a fifth wheel. Not only did she not have any idea where to begin, she had little knowledge of what they were planning to fix for the meal. She thought about Ron in the other room with his Dad and great uncle Morty. He was the one who was at home in the kitchen, yet here, for some odd reason, it was like he was forbidden to even enter the room.

Uncle Morty seemed to be rooted to a recliner in the den the whole time they were there. He didn't even rise when she shook his hand, acting like she was blocking his view of the ball game he was trying to watch the whole time. She didn't let the behavior bother her. He was apparently in his late 70s and might not have been able to get out of the chair easily. There was also every possibility he had not taste for the proceedings that day, preferring to let it all pass while he watched some random game.

Gram came and stood shoulder to shoulder with Kim. "Have you ever made pierogies?"

Kim stammered for a moment. "Uh, not that I'm aware of."

"It's really simple, dear. Just take some dough, roll it out nice and thin, then you cut it in a circle." She pulled a circular cutter about four inches across down from a hook. "Then you put something good to eat in the middle. Tonight we're going to use some fruit and jelly, since these will be for desert."

"Oh, okay, sounds like a hot pocket. So, do you bake them?"

"Oh, no. When you fold them over and seal them, you throw them in a pot of boiling water and let them cook until they float. Then you fry them in butter. Simple as can be. Now, you get started on that while I go check on the pot roast."

Kim thought furiously. The last time she had to deal with anything even vaguely resembling dough, it had been in her sophomore Home Ec class, and that time Ron was there to keep it from becoming a complete disaster. Roll it thin, Gram had said. Okay, that meant a rolling pin. The pin itself was right out where she could see it, though it was an old-fashioned one piece style instead of the more familiar version with the independent rolling handles. She found a cutting board that would be a good size to work with and set the cutter to the side.

Okay, now what about dough?

It was a good thing the kitchen was fairly large, especially with five women milling about. It seemed to her that Gram and Ron's Mom were the ones really doing most of the work, while Aunt Ida and Aunt Freda seemed to be just trying to look busy. She had seen it before, especially when her brothers wanted to keep from having extra chores assigned to them or even with some of the students in Home Ec once the class became popular again.

She looked in the refrigerator. Her Mom like to make San Francisco style sourdough and for some reason, that meant she kept a wad of dough going in the fridge all the time. It had something to do with cultures. She couldn't just whip up that kind of bread straight from scratch without the 'starter.'

There didn't seem to be anything like that in Gram's.

Slowly it dawned on her she was going to be expected to make the dough. How on Earth was she supposed to do that? Of course, she knew the basics. She would need flour and eggs and very likely some milk and perhaps some water. The only problem was she had no idea how those ingredients worked together, or how much of any one of them she would need.

She was just about to ask Jean when a piercing wail reached them. Almost immediately she took off her apron and went to see what was wrong with her daughter. Kim knew already, having taken care of babies at least a few times. It was changing time, one of the many prospects of motherhood she was most def not looking forward to. It was fine to change a child a few times on the rare occasion she was babysitting one still in diapers, it was going to be quite another thing to have to do it repeatedly, day after day after day…

Ida and Freda were starting to notice her lost puppy look, exchanging glances. Ida shook her head and went back to chopping whatever kind of vegetable working with.

Taking a deep breath, Kim admitted defeat.

"Um, Gram? How exactly do I make the dough for these pierogies?"

"Good heaven's, dear, didn't your mother ever teach you anything?" She said kindly, with a touch of amusement.

"Actually, Mom's a neurosurgeon. She's never had that much time to teach me any of that." She studiously left out the fact that her mother had long ago given up trying to teach her the fine art of cooking…not to mention that their insurance rates were high enough considering what the twins usually did to the house.

Gram went to a small box, getting out an old, tattered recipe card. "This is the recipe. Just leave out the pepper since you're making sweet pierogies."

Kim read down the list. "Does it still need salt?"

The older woman nodded. "Just follow the directions and leave out the pepper, you'll be fine."

She crossed her fingers and started hunting down the ingredients. At least the flour bin was labeled. Buttermilk and eggs from the refrigerator, salt from the cabinet. She carefully arranged all those things around the cutting board she had out and pulled out a mixing bowl.

Nervously she glanced around the kitchen. There was no sign of a mixer. In fact, considering the rolling pin was the older type, they only thing she expected to find would be a mechanical egg beater. Even that, she knew, would be dangerous in her hands, so she simply found a wooden spoon.

"Three and a half cups of flour." She read. That seemed easy enough. Carefully she measured them out, just like Ron taught her to do, using a knife to skim the heap of the top. The next part really concerned her. There was something about holding an egg that switched her brain off totally. She could walk a tightrope with a book on her head, with a glass balanced in it and not spill a drop. Put a chicken egg in her hands and it was like she was channeling all of Ron's clumsiness into one moment.

Taking the first egg in her hand, she lightly tapped it on the corner of the counter, breaking the shell ever so slightly. Turning her face slightly to the side, she held the egg with both hands over the bowl and started pulling the shell apart.

Amazingly, the contents dropped cleanly down into the bowl.

As the egg rolled down the side of the mound of flour, she realized she had forgotten to make a little bowl in the top of the flour to catch the egg. No matter, there were two more eggs to go. She used the spoon and hollowed out the top, just like preparing mashed potatoes for gravy. The second egg yielded to her light tap and its contents joined the first in the mixture.

Kim smiled. She was actually doing it. She was actually mixing the dough and hadn't gotten any shell in the mix. The smile faded as the final egg simply splintered in her fingers, breaking the yolk and sending several shards of the shell into the bowl. Carefully she picked them out, all the while sensing the eyes of the two elder matrons on her.

Carefully she added the rest of the ingredients and started stirring.

It became obvious pretty quickly why most people used mixers. For all the power and stamina in her arms, the constant circular motion in the thick mixture was making her tire quickly, yet there were still many, many lumps in the dough. She knew the mixture needed to be even and smooth. She found herself literally working up a sweat, unused to working her muscles that way.

Finally, she got it where she thought it would work and dumped the whole blob out onto the board. There was a slight snicker from across the room, making her wonder what she was doing wrong. It had to be something.

Grabbing the rolling pin, she started thinning out the dough. The only problem was everything seemed to want to stick to everything else. The dough stuck to the board, to the rolling pin, to her hands, just about everything. It was all just too wet and sticky. What was she doing wrong?

Kim risked a glance at the other women. Gram was busy with the stove and not paying her any attention, but the Aunts were watching her with rapt attention, obviously enjoying the show.

_I can do anything, and that means making pierogies_ Kim told herself. She repeated her mantra over and over in her mind. Slowly it started dawning on her. She could do anything when Ron was with her. They were a team. Separated, they were less than the sum of their parts. Everyone could make a joke about her burning down a kitchen, but if he was there, she would have the confidence and the backup she needed to not only survive, but thrive in there.

Steeling herself with the knowledge that he was just in the other room, she wracked her brain for the answer. It came to her as she remembered watching Ron baking bread the first day of Home Ec. He greased and floured the pan. Thinking back to the cooking shows she sometimes watched with him, any time they worked with dough they used flour like a gymnast would use chalk. Carefully she scooped the whole mess back into the bowl and cleaned up what had gotten stuck. Taking a pinch of flour, she spread it on the board, on her fingers and the rolling pin. This time, things started working out a whole lot better. It still stuck, but with a little application of more flour, she finally had it under control.

Kim was just about to start cutting out the circles when Gram wandered back over. "Just a little thinner, dear. Don't want them coming out too doughy. You're doing fine. I'll put on a pot of water. Here's the filling." She placed a bowl with several kinds of chopped up fruit and walnuts. Kim rolled it out a little thinner and started making the cuts, though the first one didn't work out that well until she realized she had to use flour there too.

Gram came back one more time and showed Kim the tool for crimping down the edges all pretty. She was about to use a fork, which was just as proper, but the tool made it look all that much better. She felt extreme pride when she finally used up the filling, with only a couple of them breaking open.

She surveyed her work. Forty five minutes in the kitchen and nothing was on fire, nothing more than just a trace of flour had been spilled and her dough wasn't completely filled with bits of egg shell.

A little bead of sweat broke out on her forehead. The next part involved fire. Well, not true fire since it was an electric range, but there was heat involved and even though the next step called for boiling water, she was always afraid that she could burn that as well. After all, wasn't water composed of Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms? Both of which were highly inflammable. Somehow if there was a way to turn a boiling pot of water into a hydrogen bomb, she would stumble onto it.

No! That was not going to happen. Not in front of these women. There was not going to be a repeat of the homemade Naco incident! There were going to be no exploding jars of salsa, not scorched beefy mixture, not grated cheese melting into a ball because it was too close to the burners. No Monique having to go upstairs and take a quick shower, only to have Ron walk in on her just as she got out.

_Positive thoughts, positive thoughts._ Soon enough dinner would come, pass and they would likely all go to bed early, considering the age of most of the guests. Then it would be Wednesday and it would be time to head home, and the day following that would be spent with her more familiar family. Everyone was going to be there for Thanksgiving this year. Joss and Slim were coming in from Montana, Ron's parents were invited. It was going to be a full house and she also knew that meant Ron would have a certain opportunity. She smiled deeply as she dropped the first few of her creations into the rapidly boiling pot.

_Throw 'em in, wait till the float, take them out._ That seemed simple enough. It seemed strange boiling something like that, but it really wasn't that different from watching them make bagels at the Resnick's deli. They boiled those too, before putting them in an oven to finish.

_I'm actually going to have to try this at home_ she thought as she put the last ones into the pot. She could get Ron to make some tex-mex filling and make Naco pierogies. Tex-Mex-Polski. Now there was a combination only an iron-clad stomach like Ronald Eugene Stoppable could appreciate.

Scooping the last of them out with a wire basket, she put the bowl aside. All that remained was to fry them golden in some butter. She could do that. Just flip them like pancakes (never mind that any attempt she had made at those in her lifetime was a disaster.)

Confidence can be a wonderful thing. It can buoy you through all kinds of dicey situations, but that only works when you have the proper skills in the first place. Overconfidence could be just as bad as doubt.

Perhaps it was overconfidence, then perhaps it was just because Kim was trying to cook wearing a dress and semi-dressy mid-heel shoes. Maybe there was something on the floor that cut down on her traction. After all, there were four women at work in that kitchen, with all kinds of food and liquids being prepared.

Using protective mitts, Kim picked up the heavy pot full of steaming water. All she had to do was dump it out in the sink. As she pivoted on her foot, she slipped. How she managed to keep any one of them in that kitchen from getting scalded, she didn't know. Perhaps it was because the water was spreading out on cold tiles, but the time she landed on her backside, it was just simply hot.

All Kim knew was that she was now lying on the floor, her backside soaked in used pierogi water with three elderly Jewish women looking at her like there was a three-eyed, green skinned creatures with an antenna sticking out of its head lying on the kitchen floor.

She also knew her face was probably just as red as her backside had turned.

_That's it. I am never, ever setting foot in a kitchen again! _

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	23. Part XXIII – The Perfect Storm

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XXIII – The Perfect Storm**

* * *

A thoroughly embarrassed and defeated Kim went to change while Gram finished up her creations for her. She had come so close to pulling it off. She actually had a bowl full of pierogi ready for the frying pan and she had every confidence she could do that. Just let them sit in the hot butter until they turned golden, then she would have passed what was none other than a test of her suitability to marry the family's youngest son.

Ron and Jean came running into the kitchen, expecting the worst after he head the crash. He helped her up under the withering glare of his Aunts, not caring that he wasn't even supposed to be in there. Not a word was spoken, but the expressions on everyone's face told her she had not only failed, but failed miserably. There was no doubt in her mind that any one of the women would have had the dough ready inside of fifteen minutes, instead of her taking three times that long and having to figure out what she was doing wrong by experimentation.

Jean helped her out of the wet, slightly torn dress. The zipper had failed when she landed on her backside. "Guess I'm thankful that I've got a tough butt." She muttered as she got out of her partially soaked slip. It was a little strange to be changing in front of Ron's Mom, but really no different than changing in the locker room.

The older woman just shook her head sadly. "This was a mistake."

Kim slipped on the black slacks she brought to wear the next day. "No, Jean. The accident was my fault. I was getting cocky."

"No, I meant bringing you here in the first place. I just thought it was necessary for you to meet my family. It's not about that. You did pretty well considering your track record in the kitchen. Really, it wouldn't have mattered one bit if you'd finished everything, they would still find some reason to criticize you. I guess I should be thankful they haven't come right out and said it."

"That I'm not a Jew?" Kim finished for her as she pulled her teal top over her head, pulling her ponytail out and trying to straighten her hair.

Jean nodded, looking at the floor. "Not a Jew, not Polish. Even if you were, even if you came here wearing a dowdy dress and weighing twice what you so with a babushka tied around your head, they would find something wrong with you. It's Gene all over again, and I had no right to drag you through this."

Kim sat down beside her. "Jean, you felt it was your duty to your family. Tradition is important. So I don't meet their expectations. Does that change the way you and Gene feel about me?"

Jean just shook her head. Kim wrapped her arms around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Then all the people who really matter have accepted me. Let's just get through this night and we can go back to Middleton tomorrow."

She returned the hug, sniffing slightly. "I mean it, Kim. You were doing really well."

"It was okay. I just got stupid there, that's all." She smiled, chuckling slightly. "Maybe the cooking thing skips a generation. Maybe I'll have a daughter some day who can cook. Besides, like you and Ron were saying, these people are going to be my family anyway. There's going to be our wedding and God willing some day Ron and I will be the ones bringing a new baby down for them to meet."

Jean let out a long breath. "Ron's really lucky to have you. I'd probably have stormed out of this house by now if I was you, or just walled it all up inside me like Gene does."

Kim got up and pulled on Jean's hands. "Come on, we've got a visit to get through. We'd better get back in there before they find some reason to gripe about how long it's taking me to change."

* * *

Despite her surge in confidence, dinner was a study in mutual discomfort. Ida and Freda kept whispering in Polish, despite Gram's repeated insistence they were being rude. Kim didn't know a word of the language, but she could tell just the way they glanced at her what they must have been talking about. She could just hear what they must have been saying. She was too young, too gentile, too tiny to bear offspring, let alone the fact any children they would have would technically not be Jewish since she wasn't. Not to mention she was a disaster in the kitchen waiting to happen. What kind of quality girl had no idea how to cook? She could just imagine how they would feel if they knew the extent of her shortcomings when it came to what was traditionally considered 'woman's work.'

Besides the whispers, the meal progressed almost in silence, save for the occasional gurgle or laugh from CJ, who was sitting in a high chair that looked older than any person sitting in the room.

Kim frowned at the fact that so far, only Rufus had sampled the pierogi. He seemed happy enough to eat it, though the Aunts glared hatefully at the little creature while he did so. She could only hope that since they were filled with sweets, they were intended for desert.

Finally, Aunt Ida spoke up. "In my day, no one would get engaged to be married without first meeting the family's approval. That is what is wrong with children today, they care only about themselves. We know nothing about this girl's history except what we have seen on the television." She turned a sharp eye on Kim. "And what I have seen there is a young woman wearing tight tops and boy's pants running around doing things that only a man should properly do."

Kim swallowed hard, biting her lip almost to the point of drawing blood. She could feel Ron's foot touch hers under the table.

"So, Miss Possible, tell us about yourself. Why is it you feel it's your place to play the hero all the time? Why is it if Ronald is your partner in all of this that we never see anything about him?"

She tried desperately to keep her voice even. "I've always attempted to get him the kind of recognition he deserves. After all, he's the one Bueno Nacho is using in their advertising."

"Feh. If he knew what was good for him he would have nothing to do with that traife. He should be the one heralded as the hero. If you were a proper mate for him you would understand this and step aside from the limelight. It is your job to support him, not the other way around."

"Ron doesn't just support me. We've got each other's backs. I can't help that the media chooses to focus on me the way they do."

Aunt Freda finally broke in. "You are Christian, aren't you?"

"Yes ma'am."

"KP's been going to Temple with us." Ron said, touching Kim's waist in a show of support.

"Oh really." Aunt Ida replied. "So, when are you going to convert? Will it be before this…wedding? For that matter, when do the two of you plan on going through with this?"

"Convert? I…I really hadn't considered it. Why should I…"

"How on Earth do you think it will be possible for you two to marry? You have to convert."

"Now wait a minute. I may not be the most religious person on this planet, but I do have my faith."

Ida crossed her arms. "Then the two of you cannot get married."

"What? You have no right…"

"I have every right. You may think the whole world revolves around just you, but that does mean you don't have to respect your elders, or your betters."

Kim found herself on her feet, her hands balling into fists. "What makes you think you're any better than me?"

"Simple. I am the elder of this family. I have been before you were even born and I am not going to allow you or any other Goyim to trample over our traditions and our religion. The very idea you would mingle your Gentile blood with us is repugnant. The fact you throw the fact you don't even respect your own faith back at us makes it all the more clear. I've held my tongue long enough. You're not Jewish. You're not one of us. You claim to love Ronald, that is beside the point. That just proves that he is thinking with his loins instead of his head and his heart.

"I know what is best for him, even if he does not."

Kim glared at the older woman, her eye starting to twitch. She held up her index finger and started to speak. The Stoppables just sat there in utter shock at what was happening, though Ron was starting to rise out of his chair. With a growl, Kim turned and stormed out. The kitchen door slammed and they could hear her footsteps out on the deck, heading for the dock.

"How dare you." Ron growled through clenched teeth.

"How dare I. Perhaps you forget, I am the head of this family. I am have the final say on who you may or may not marry. It had been that way since the beginning of time. In my day, you would not have had the chance to bring this…" She called Kim a word in Polish he didn't know, though he caught the drift. "…into this house."

"Don't you dare call Kim a, whatever it was you called her. I've been with her since I was four years old, and I'll be the one who decides if she's right for me. I'm the one who asked her to marry me. I'm the one who's had her back for the last six years. When we graduate college, we're getting married, and that's all I have to say about the matter."

"No, I absolutely forbid it. That girl is not suitable for you."

"But…" Ron pleaded.

"No buts. Your first duty is to your family, not that red-haired tramp who thinks she is some kind of superhero."

Ron suddenly threw his fork down and stood up. "Okay, that's it. You know what, you talk about my duty to my family, well what about the real family I've know almost constantly for over fourteen years? You think I don't know Kim's not Jewish? So what? If she said some of the things you did, I'm willing to bet you'd be on the phone with the anti-defamation league inside of five minutes, calling her an anti-Semite. In fact, since the moment we got here, you've been insulting and belittling her. You made her do something she can't just because you have this stupid, stuck up tradition that only the women can cook. Guess what? Kim can't cook, I can, so I'm the one who will when we get married.

"Maybe you can't accept the fact I'm marrying a non-Jew. Tough. All the people I think are the most important already have. That includes my Mom and Dad, that includes Gram R. That includes all my friends and it even includes my Rabbi. That's right, Rabbi Katz was one of the first people to congratulate us after I proposed, and I think he knows a doggone sight more about what it takes for folks to be a real married couple than an old, bitter woman who only dares to show up when she's got some grand pronouncement to make about what she feels is right for a family she doesn't even see for half a decade or more at a time.

"I've got a real family, one that was there whenever I needed them. I've been damned lucky. The man upstairs saw fit to not only give me one set of parents, but two. You want to talk about duty? Well, right there is where my duty lay. If that means I'm going to be disowned by you, then so be it. It's not like I had much in that department anyway, considering the way you've treated my father ever since I've known you. Don't think I don't hear you, talking behind his back. Even when you do it in Polish, I can hear the tone of your voice."

He turned to face his mother. "Mom, I'm sorry, but it was a mistake to bring Kim here with us. I knew this was going to happen the moment you asked me to bring her." With that he stormed out of the dining room and out the front door, slamming it behind him.

Ron didn't know how long or how far he walked, only that he was seething in anger at both his great Aunt and at himself. Only in that moment did he finally realize he should have stood up for Kim before things had spiraled out of control. He was supposed to have her back just as he said, instead he just sat there, hoping everything would blow over and they could go home.

He shook in rage, replaying all the hateful things Aunt Ida said back there, replaying the looks on his parent's faces as they did exactly the same thing he did. For years they had been cowed by that woman. Outside of the platitude of 'respect your elders' did it say the eldest had to be in charge of the family? The Ten Commandments said to honor his parents. That didn't say anything about a great aunt who lived in Boca after a near lifetime of New York City. All that honor stuff was well fine and good, but what ever happened to making up his own mind.

Just thinking about it was making him physically ill. All of that was no different than if he went up to Felix and told him he couldn't be with Monique because she was black. In fact, the whole time he had known her, the only mention there ever was about her race was when that bastard Carrion brought it up. He didn't care about that and really, Kim wasn't even a different race. Sure, there would be problems being of differing faiths, but they had the support they needed to get by all of that. There was his parents, Kim's parents, Rabbi Katz and most of all, there was his love for Kim. Wasn't that what mattered?

He reached a wooden bridge spanning a creek that fed the lake. Stopping at the rail, he looked down at the starlight reflecting on the water. The moon was still dark, only having been new the night before. Then he did something he usually only did on Saturday mornings or on the High Holy Days. He started praying, starting out in Hebrew saying prayers he knew by rote, then he switched to English.

An answer came to him. He didn't know if it was the true, right, final answer, but he knew it was right for him. He started the long walk back to his Grandmother's home. It took him longer than he was expecting, having walked further in his funk than he thought he had, but the clear skies allowed enough starlight wasn't hard to see the road. Finally he could see the lights in the house.

He didn't go inside, but skirted the edge of the manicured lawn. He needed to set things right and that meant there was only one person he needed to talk to at that moment. There was only one person who really needed him.

Ron walked out onto the dock, looking out over the lake. The dining room was in the front of the house, so only the kitchen lights shown toward the water. He seemed so utterly alone out there. He expected Kim to be out there, where they had once spent that lazy week in summer, out in the water more than they were on dry land. For an awful moment he considered the possibility Kim had done something drastic. Then he heard a tiny sniff.

Kim rarely cried. She was such an in-charge person it even carried over to herself. That meant keeping a lot of what she felt bottled up inside of her, even to her detriment. The fact she was out there softly crying almost broke his heart, though at the same time he was glad she was letting it out.

He followed the sound to the boat house off to the side of the dock. She was sitting in the back of the motorboat with her knees drawn up to her chest.

She didn't hear him approach and didn't even know he was there until he stepped into the boat, causing it to rock very slightly. She sobbed a little louder as she let her legs down, leaning into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close.

In his arms, the remains of her 'Kimness' spilled away and she let it out, crying loudly as he rocked her silently in the back of the boat.

"I thought I could handle this." She said quietly once she settled down a little.

"Shhhhh, KP. It's my fault. I should have never let it get to this."

"No, Ron. These are your people. You were acting the way they've made you think you're supposed to act. I'm the one who couldn't stand up to them."

He took her chin in his fingertips. "Don't ever think you have to. Aunt Ida doesn't matter. She's not the boss of me. Tomorrow morning we'll all go home and things will be back the way they're supposed to be. You'll see."

"But Ronnie, that woman, she hates me."

"Aunt Ida hates everyone. I wouldn't let it bother you."

"But Ron, she's your family."

"No, Kim, she's my kin. There's a difference. You know, you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose. Waitaminute, that's not right."

"Ron." She smiled punched him in the arm.

He pulled his arms tight around her again. "KP, I've got family. I've got more family than a guy like me has any right to have. That's what I told them when I told Aunt Ida off back there."

"You did what?"

"Yeah." He pulled at the collar of his shirt. "I sorta, well, called her a bigot and said stuff about her not being the boss of me. You know, all the stuff I should have said before you got so upset you had to leave."

"Ron, I can't believe you did that."

"Kim, it had to be said. The only reason that old battleaxe has any power is because nobody's ever stood up to her before."

She buried her head in her hands. "Oh, I am so not looking forward to our ride home tomorrow. I get your Mom and Dad are so tweaked at me now."

He put his hand on the middle of her back. "No, KP. Well, yeah, I bet they're mad, but I bet they're just as mad at Aunt Ida. You'll be okay, I promise."

They both looked up as the door creaked open. "I thought I heard somebody in here." Gram carefully stepped into the boat, carrying a large serving bowl. "Sure would have been a shame to let these go to waste." She sat down beside her grandson, passing the bowl to him. It was full of the pierogi Kim made earlier.

"You sure they're edible?" Kim asked weakly.

The old woman responded by taking one from the bowl and biting down on it, chewing vigorously. "A bit on the doughy side, but pretty good for a first timer. Could have stood to roll it out a little thinner, but you'll learn. Oh, by the way, there's a reason I wear the sneaks." She held up her foot. It was usually hidden under her long skirt, but there was indeed a white tennis shoe on there.

Ron took a pierogi and nibbled on it. Then he took a huge bite, then another, finishing the traditional treat in three. "Kim actually made this?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Naco boy." She punched his arm again, a little harder this time.

"I finished them up while she changed, but yes, she did everything but the frying pan."

Kim took one and sampled it. "Maybe that was the hand of God. There's no telling how long it would take the fire department to get out here if I started a grease fire."

"Phooey, child. Everybody knows all you have to do is put a lid on the pan if it catches. Besides, it was just butter."

"Gram, Kim was once dragged down the hall by an out of control mixer." Ron added.

"Bah, who needs those new fangled things. If it wasn't for Saul, I'd still have a nice hot gas stove, but no, he had to get the electric one. Now, why don't the two of you come back inside. It's supposed to get down below freezing tonight."

Kim shrunk back down a little. "I don't really think I want to go back in there, if it's all the same."

"What, you're going to sleep out here in the boat house? No on my watch, you're not. Anyway, not two minutes after Ron stomped out of there, Ida grabbed Freda and Morty and dragged them out of the house. They drove into town to get themselves a room before they fly back to Boca tomorrow."

"They…left?" Ron asked, surprise in his voice.

"Of course they did. I lit into her for causing such a ruckus in my house. It is my place, after all. Oh, Ida can get on her high horse about being the matriarch and all that, but this isn't the old country. Sure, I'd bet the old Rabbis we had growing up would probably side with her, but hey, if you're Rabbi Katz is okay with this, then so am I. Now come inside before you end up sick. I may be able to cook a little, but my chicken soup leaves a lot to be desired. That's the reason little Jean never gets sick. She doesn't want me to come up there to Middleton and make her some."

Ron stood up first, helping both women from the boat, then stuffed another pierogi into his mouth. Kim took another as well, thinking again about getting Ron to make some with Naco filling. They actually were pretty good, though, like Gram said, they were a tad doughy.

It was later than they figured. Neither had thought to look at their watches while they were out there, but the clock over the fireplace read a quarter past ten.

"I think Jean and her good-for-nothing husband have already gone to bed. She put Little Catherine down a while ago." Kim looked up sharply when the older woman used that term for Gene, but she realized it was much more a term of endearment to her, probably a way to keep on some sort of good terms with her older sisters.

"Gram, if you don't mind, I think Kim and I will stay up for a little while."

She eyed her grandson with a wry smile. "Why? The two of you thinking of sneaking off and going skinny dipping again? I tell you, if you do, I'll make up a batch of that soup just to head it off right at the pass, and don't give me any of that Fortress-of-immunity garbage you and your father talk about."

"I just think Ron wants to talk." Kim said. Somehow a pall had been lifted off the house, making her feel like a thirteen year old girl again. She was among family now, people who cared about her.

Gram raised an eyebrow, looking for an instant just like her daughter. "Seems to me I remember a girl and a boy who spent almost the whole night talking instead of sleeping, camped out in front of the fire in their sleeping bags. Bet those two had to sleep for a week when they got home. Unless the two of you have something else in mind." She winked at Kim, causing the younger woman to blush crimson.

She led them into the den. The floor in front of the fireplace had been obscured by the couch until the got around it. There were two sleeping bags and a pile of pillows there, just like they had slept five years before. "I think this will be a little more comfortable than that old stiff bed in the guest room, unless the two of you need some privacy." She nudged Kim a little this time.

"No, Gram, this is spankin." She said, almost missing the fact the elder Rokowski apparently intended for them to share a room anyway. She had come to figure that they were going to have to choose between the one remaining guest room and the couch, the thought that, being an unmarried couple, there was no way they were going to share a bed like they did back home. That aside, the prospect of spending the night in front of the fire, pretending they were just kids again was too good to pass up.

"You kids be good. It's time for me to go rest these old bones." She gave Kim one more wink then headed off to her room.

They did indeed spend the greater part of the night just talking, putting what had happened earlier that evening behind them, and doing more than a little kissing once the firelight died down.

* * *

Thanks to MrDrP for suggesting the title to this chapter!

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	24. Part XXIV – What We’re Thankful For

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XXIV – What We're Thankful For**

* * *

Kim awoke to the sensation of someone else's head resting against her shoulder. As her synapses slowly switched over from the subconscious to the conscious, the reality of her sitch started coming back to her. It was much later than she normally slept, but that was because it was a holiday and she would not have to get up early until Saturday so she could go to Temple with Ron.

Normally when somebody else was in the bed with her, it would be Ron. However, the cranium resting on her shoulder was crowned with long brown hair instead of short, shaggy, dark blonde. Almost immediately she remembered that her little cousin Joss was bunking with her since her father had taken the guest room.

Joss actually wasn't so little any more. Just a couple weeks earlier she had turned fifteen and she had grown considerably since the week they spent at her father's ranch in Montana. In fact, save for the color of her hair, eyes and a smattering of freckles, she had become the spitting image of Kim at that age.

Kim was just the wee bit jealous, considering certain parts of the younger girl were a little more developed than they had been for her when she hit that milestone. Apparently her own…shortcomings in that department were a gift from her mother's side of the family.

The moment Kim got home from Arizona mid-afternoon, she was sent out in her car to pick her uncle and cousin up at the airport. He mother was pulling an extra shift at the medical center and her father was preparing a rocket for liftoff the following weeks, so it was either send her or have the two take a cab. Of course, she was more than happy to make the trip, though Ron was dragging a bit. They really did spend the better part of the night just talking about whatever came to their minds before they realized the two sleeping bags were similar enough they could zip them together like they did the ones in their mission equipment. Even then they did more talking than actual making out and it was only the wee hours of the morning when they finally fell asleep in each other's arms.

Kim's jaw almost dropped when she saw her uncle and cousin coming out of the terminal. Slim looked precisely the same as he ever did, with his cowboy boots and hat, his long drooping mustache and ragged long hair peeking out from under his Stetson. It was Joss who had changed the most.

She no longer just dressed like Kim, she looked just like her as well. She had taken to wearing makeup to partially disguise her freckles and had grown out her hair, parting it on the side instead of the middle. A little bit of hair dye and some green contacts and she could pose as Kim's twin, making her wonder if the younger Possible had reverted back to her 'be just like Kim' mentality. She had even foresworn western-wear in favor of a snug sweater and fairly low-cut capris. She had gone from gangly tween to gorgeous young woman seemingly overnight.

Kim was a little shocked when she ran up to hug Ron first. She had a bad moment when she realized that when she hugged him like that, it was a prelude to a kiss. It got worse when they parted and Joss hesitated just a moment, looking straight at his eyes. All the posters she had put up of him the last time they were at the Ranch suddenly took on a whole other dimension.

Could Joss be crushing on Ron?

That thought was dispelled when the crushing the surprisingly strong young woman did was the hug she gave Kim next. She was just being especially friendly. The thought of her having any kind of romantic designs on Ron was just silly. The two had been chatting online on a regular basis and Joss knew they were engaged. Joss even went on to write in their IM chats that she won the bet with her father that the two of them would get together.

The ride home turned out to be the reverse of the road trip with the Stoppables. Joss called shotgun, putting both Ron and Slim in the back seat. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for them back there since the PT Cruiser was a pretty well thought out design. The young teen spent the entire thirty minute ride back to the Possible's going on about her fledgling career helping people in Montana and how she was doing it all herself with just a website that was practically a clone copy of Kim's.

Kim didn't bring up the fact that Wade had been taking a hand in the site, protecting it against hackers and directing some missions her way when appropriate.

Slim, Ron and Kim barely got a word in edgewise. That ran on right into dinner and beyond. Joss took Kim's usual position on the couch, hooking one arm around Ron's and generally paying him a great deal of attention while she prattled on about her adventures in her transplanted Texas twang.

By that point there was no doubt in her mind. It was all there in her cousin's body language. There was even every possibility her room was still covered in posters, with even more added to it as other great shots of him turned up online. There was probably even a shot of him wearing his Senior Prom tux among them by then. Leave it to high-tech ranchers to have a large-format printer in the house.

Kim was not going to jell. Joss was her cousin and probably the closest she ever had to having the sister she wanted before her brothers were born, despite the fact the two only rarely saw each other face to face. She reminded herself again that she was quite aware of their relationship and was just acting out the crush that she developed when she was twelve. It was just a little-girl thing and as pretty as she was, Joss was certain to have a boyfriend back home in Montana.

How easy it was to forget that she didn't actually have a boyfriend at that age, only a largely unrequited crush on Josh Mankey.

Later that night, before bed, Joss literally got into a frenzy of trying on Kim's clothes. That's when Kim noticed something that actually shocked her.

"Joss, is that a…belly button ring?"

"Ain't it cool? Daddy got angry somethin fierce, but hey, what's done was done, so he let me keep it." She let her older cousin have a closer look. It was silver, set with a small turquoise stone that matched her eye color. She had matching earrings on as well. In fact, Joss had a lot of silver jewelry on, including an arrowhead on a silver chain and silver rings on each middle finger, etched with Native American designs.

"I almost hate to ask this, Joss, but what are you into these days. You almost never talk about anything in your IMs except your missions."

"Yer speck'tin me to say I'm still into you? Or are you worried I'm into Ron?"

"Well…" Kim found she couldn't meet the girl's eyes.

Joss went behind the changing screen and pulled Kim's green tank and capris back off. Moments later she stepped out wearing the short black dress. "Don't tell Daddy, but I've sort of got me a boyfriend, so don't you be worryin' I'm after yours. Now, this outfit, it's spankin!" She smoothed her hands down over her hips in a move strikingly similar to what Kim did every time she put the dress on.

"Let me guess, Uncle Slim isn't too keen on boys?"

"Nah, he's alright with them, so long as they're my age and all, or at least still in high school."

"Uh oh." Kim grinned, getting an idea where the conversation was going.

"See, there's this guy who works for Daddy at the Lazy C. He's so…"

"Golden?" Kim supplied.

"Yeah, golden. Kinda like that guy on those AMC cowboy movies, but just nineteen."

"Oh boy. I take it he's a bit too old for Uncle Slim's comfort zone?"

"I think it's got more ta do with him workin for Daddy, but yeah. Kinda funny, since Daddy was almost ten years older than Mama."

Kim smiled at her cousin. "The age difference thing works a lot better once you're past twenty one, I think. You said sorta boyfriend?"

"Well, sorta since we ain't gone on any real dates or nothin'. Daddy's kinda funny 'bout that too. He lets me go all over the place on my missions, but he gets all bent outta shape any time I mention Bud takin me to town or anything."

"Somehow that sounds familiar." Kim smiled even more broadly, recalling the time her Dad pronounced "No boys, ever" back when she was fifteen and he finally realized she was growing up.

She noticed Joss was still looking at herself in the mirror, admiring her figure in the little black dress. "You know, that's Ron's favorite dress."

"I kinda figured that. Daddy would probly take Bud to meet Old Tornado if I went out with him wearin this. How the heck did you get out of the house with it?"

Kim sighed. "Most likely because I've only ever worn it on dates with Ron. A lot of the rules don't apply where it comes to him."

Joss went back behind the screen, this time coming out wearing a t-shirt that hung all the way down past her knees. Kim would have expected the cotton nightshirt to have some kind of cowboy scenes on it, instead, there was a drawing of a kitten curled up in bed, with a logo that said "Sleep Like a Kitten." She stretched out the wrong direction on the bed, on her stomach with her feet in the air.

"What's Ron like?"

Kim lay back on the bed, looking upwards. "He's sweet, he's caring."

Joss looked back at her cousin. "Not 'xactly where I was goin."

"Oh!" Kim blushed, biting her lower lip. "Well, he's pretty good at kissing."

"Uh huh. And?"

She gave Joss a 'look.' "None of your biz." She replied with a sly smile.

"Just askin." She waved here feet a little. "Just couldn't help but notice he's got big hands."

"Oy, what is it with everybody talking about how big Ron's hands are?"

Joss rolled onto her back, trying to determine exactly what it was Kim was looking at. She was grinning like the famous literary cat. "I figured since you two'd been together so long now you'd have known about that."

"Joss, when I was your age, I was a lot more worried that I'd get a chance to dance with a boy, let alone wonder exactly how he was…built."

"So you don't know? Shame."

"I didn't say that. Just that it's none of your business." She sat up on her elbows, looking at the younger girl. "Don't tell me…"

"Nah. Ain't gone there yet, just think about it from time to time. Just like it when guys pay me that kind of attention and all."

Kim stretched back out. The lack of sleep the night before and the late hour were starting to catch up to her. "Guess I really did get a pretty late start. Between school and missions and clubs and stuff, I really didn't have all that much time for dating."

"Yet for Ron you always made time, didn't you?"

"You know, Joss, you're right. It's just, I don't know, I think I took him for granted for so long. It was like he was just some kind of fall-back guy for me. When I couldn't get some boy I was crushing on to notice me or take me out, I'd always end up with him, to the point I started calling Friday nights my 'Ron night' and still I couldn't see we were already dating, after a fashion."

"Yer just lucky I was just twelve when I met him." Joss looked back at her, wagging her eyebrows.

"It's not that easy. Honestly, if we hadn't been best friends since we were four, I doubt I would have ever noticed him. It sometimes makes me sick to my stomach that I could have missed out on him."

"When did you realize he was 'the one?'"

"I think I knew it for a long time before, but I didn't realize it until the night of the Diablos. Then it was just like somebody threw a switch in my head and I realized I not only had deep feelings for him, but I was in love with him. It was so strange, cause he was nothing like what I thought I wanted. He was shorter than me, kind of skinny and he was always such a slacker, but once that light bulb went off in my head I found I not only liked the way he looked, I…well…wanted him. Before, when I was out with a guy, I thought about what it might be like to kiss them, or hold their hand, but it wasn't until Ron I thought about those…other things. Well, thought about them really seriously." She added with a smile.

Joss propped herself up. "That's what I want. Sure, I admit I kinda think about Bud like that, but never real strong-like."

"I think that comes with being a teenaged girl." Kim said. She got up and switched off the main light, leaving only the glow from her computer screen lighting the room. There still wasn't enough moon out to lighten the late fall night sky.

Joss turned around and rested her head on her pillows. After a bit she sat up again. "You 'sleep yet, Kim?"

"Almost." She replied dreamily.

"How do you know?"

"How do I know what?"

"How do you know you're in love? I mean, I like when Bud kisses me, but lovin' him?"

Kim sat up slightly in the dark. "Joss, maybe if you have to ask, that means something. Then again, you just turned fifteen, I don't think you have to worry about that yet. If dating him is fun, go for it. It's when you realize you just can't do without him, then you might have something there. The only reason I'm where I am at eighteen is because I've been with Ron so long now. He's already a part of me and I honestly don't know what I'd do without him. I guess that's it. When you feel like that, you know you're in love."

Joss proper her hands behind her head. "That's what I want. Well, that and a Mustang."

"What's wrong with your robot horse?"

The younger woman just laughed. "I'm talkin' about a car. Daddy keeps tellin' me I won't have one till I get done with school, but I'm gonna wear him down, I think."

"Well, I didn't have a car until I graduated. Get some sleep, Joss. I've had a long day."

In the dim light of the computer, she could see her cousin smiling at her. "Bet you just want me to fall asleep so you can slip downstairs and cuddle up with Ron." He was indeed down there, sleeping on the couch since Slim had taken his usual room. He wanted to start his Thanksgiving creations first thing in the morning, plus he had been pretty much zonked out since around ten anyway.

"I think he needs his sleep. We spent the last couple nights together. Not to mention I need my sleep as well. Speaking of…" She trailed off, turning on her side and wrapping the covers around herself.

The next morning she climbed out of the bed, significantly refreshed. Apparently Joss was pretty out of it herself, considering she hardly stirred. Between getting up to do chores on the ranch and going to a tiny school an hour's ride away, she probably only got to sleep in on rare occasions. She left her asleep there and headed down the stairs.

Kim breathed deeply of the aromas wafting up from the kitchen. She could already hear Ron and her Mom chattering away, fixing breakfast as well as doing the early prep work for that afternoon's big family feast. One smell in particular got her feet to moving. Her lover might not have been the world's biggest coffee drinker, but when he made a batch of Eight O'clock hazelnut it was some of the best she had ever had. Fresh and awake as she was, she just couldn't resist getting some, even if the rest of them gagged at the sight of her drinking it black.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and smiled. The twins, her Dad and Uncle slim were in the den, the elder Possibles both reading different parts of the same paper. Jim and Tim were watching the early Thanksgiving day parades. Ron and her Mom were bustling about in the kitchen.

It struck her just how much she was thankful to have a family like that.

* * *

With all the extra guests, dinner was one of the largest they had in years. Ron's parents were there, with CJ sitting in her high chair, watching the proceedings since she was still on the bottle. The weather was nice and pleasant, so they set up their feast on some folding tables out on the deck instead of trying to squeeze everyone into the dining room. That way, too, they wouldn't be forced to set up a 'kids' table for the five teens. The twins wrestled the kitchen table outside to set up a sort of buffet.

Anne and Ron combined their talents to set a massive feast out for the. There was a large, traditionally prepared Turkey, a glazed ham with pineapple rings, a roast beef, giblet gravy, brown gravy, marshmallow crusted mashed sweet potatoes, spinach salad, both kinds of cranberry sauce, twice baked potatoes (Rufus was already eying them as they had four kinds of cheese on top) peas, deviled eggs, several kinds of pickles and several loafs of bread with melted bleu cheese inside them. There was enough food there to serve a small army and nobody would go hungry. That meant leftovers for days!

Joss sat with Kim, looking all the more like her twin since she raided her closet again. Kim was wearing a blue tiered skirt with her peasant shirt, while her younger cousin was wearing her cream colored dress. Even the twins had abandoned their usual open shirt/t-shirt combos for dress shirts.

Ron sat at Kim's other side, dressed in a light blue shirt, dark gray slacks and a maroon and blue striped tie. He was the subject of much praise for the food he helped to fix, though his father did tease him some for actually making the ham. That was more of an inside joke since they all knew neither of them were much for sticking to a kosher diet.

Finally, as the meal was winding down, Ron reached for his wine glass. One had been set our for everyone, though the twins and Joss hadn't even considered touching theirs. The were as surprised as anyone when the dark liquid had been poured.

Ron pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Today is supposed to be the day when everyone gives thanks, so I think it's appropriate for me to celebrate the things I'm most thankful for. I'm thankful that I'm part of not one, but two great families. I'm thankful that there is so much love from both of them, but most of all, I'm thankful I have Kim in my life.

"A few months ago, I asked Kim a question, and I was blessed to have her say yes, but over time, I realized I did something wrong. Well, today, I'm going to make it right." He set his glass down and walked over to Kim's Dad.

"Mr. Dr. P. Doctor Possible. I would like to have your permission to have your daughter's hand in marriage."

James choked up slightly and stood. "I would be absolutely honored to have you as my child's husband and my son." He reached out and embraced the younger man.

Once he let go, he went back to Kim. She gasped suddenly, realizing that she had forgotten to give the ring back to him when they returned from Arizona. It was still on her finger.

He seemed not to care about that. He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and dropped to one knee. "I hope this time the sprinklers don't go off." He whispered to her as he opened the box.

Inside was another gold ring, only this one had a much larger diamond, wreathed in smaller stones. Flanking the main arrangement were two emeralds that matched the rest of her jewelry.

"Kimberly Anne Possible, will you marry me?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Yes, Ron, Yes!"

He pulled the ring out of the box and slipped the old one off, transferring it to the finger where she wore her older promise ring. Then he slipped the new ring on, to the sound of applause all the way around the table.

Ron stood back up and Kim followed him, wrapping both arms around him as she gave him a huge kiss.

Both of them finally felt like they were really, officially engaged. Kim promised herself she would never take that ring off, until the day it would be replaced by a plain gold band on their wedding day.

As if it could not wait for the kiss to end, a sound drifted out of the house, one they had hardly heard over the last several weeks.

_Beep-bee-de-beep. _

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	25. Part XXV – The Third Wheel

**_KP – One Oh One : _Part XXV – The Third Wheel**

* * *

With a slight growl, Kim grabbed the Kimmunicator off the coffee table in the family room and hit the accept button. "Wade, this had better be good. Ron just proposed to me."

"Oh, congratulations, best wishes or whatever…uh, I thought he already did."

"Yeah, this was the formal proposal, where he asked Dad for my hand and all, in front of the whole family, as in the family sitting outside on the deck having Thanksgiving dinner, a dinner you were supposed to be at instead of ringing in on the Kimmunicator." She said, her voice dripping with tweak.

"Sorry, got tied up with some other stuff I was doing. I was about to head over there when the call came in."

Kim rolled her eyes and went through the motions. "Okay, Wade, what's the sitch?" She asked glumly.

"I really think you want to hear this. Meet me at your computer."

As she shut of the device, she noticed Ron and Joss pretty much hovering over her. "Come on." She motioned for them as she headed up the stairs. As quickly as Kim sat down at her terminal, Wade touched a key and an audio recording played.

"I'm not exactly sure if this is appropriate, calling you and all, but I'm worried about her. She's been gone for three days now and that's just not like her, well, at least since she's been pregnant. I know she's a big girl and normally can take care of herself, but, I'm worried. Please call me back."

Kim sat up, utterly perplexed. She looked at Ron, who was just as dumbstruck as she was. Only Joss, who had only heard that particular voice once, wasn't as affected by it.

"Wade, tell me that wasn't Doctor Drakken."

"Voice print confirms it, Kim. That was him. I assume he's talking about Shego…though the thought that she's pregnant by…him?"

Kim shook her head. "Drakken's not the father. If I remember correctly, she should be about six months by now. Okay, so that's most def him. How do we know he just didn't tick her off for good and she bugged out on him. It's happened before."

Wade shrugged. "I have no way of knowing. Somethings definitely got him bugged if he's willing to call you."

Kim nodded. "I agree. So, what do we have."

"He made the call using a cell-phone. I've got a lock on the position. It's about five miles from the Middleton Ski Lodge. You wanna take this one? Or should I just send it over to GJ?"

Everything, including her gut, told Kim that Shego and Drakken were just plain bad news, even if the former had verbally renounced her life of crime in order to protect her child. There was just too much history to think otherwise. "No. If we call in GJ, no matter if Shego is in trouble, all that's going to do is get both of them captured." She stopped, not believing what she was actually saying. By what strange circumstance did she believe Shego, or Sherry as she tried thinking of her now, deserve a second chance? Just because they had come to an understanding? Just because they had 'girl-bonded' during their shared adventure last summer?

Or was it that there really wasn't such deep hatred for the slightly older woman after all.

There was the child to consider too.

The father she knew and even though she had not really known him long, she considered him a friend, and it was his word alone that had forced Sherry into a truce, one that, for some odd reason she still honored even after his death. Was it simply because of him that she was so concerned about an unborn child?

There was something deeper at work. Even if both Drakken and Shego were arrested, the child would be well taken care of. In fact, it probably stood a better chance at life if it was adopted out, into some nice, normal family, where it didn't have to be on the run constantly with its mother. That was the most sensible approach.

Yet, perhaps it was some maternal instinct of her own growing inside her psyche. She understood, in some way, what the child would mean to a woman like Sherry. The thought of separating them was an almost painful feeling to her. At least she hoped that was what she was feeling. As far as she was concerned, raising a family with Ron was really a foregone conclusion and she knew when it came to her own spawn, she would be like a mother bear protecting her cubs.

There was perhaps a more selfish reason to consider as well. When she parted company with Sherry back in the summer, there was something between the women that, somehow, felt like friendship. It was such a strange feeling, considering how many times they had fought, seemingly to the death, at least from her opponent's perspective. But, if there were any chance she could make a friend of the mint-hued villainess and permanently turn her away from evil, that might be the greatest victory of her career.

"Do you want to take the flyer, or would you like me to call in another ride?" Wade was just about ready with their new transportation option. There were still some bugs to be worked out, but it was sufficient for the short hop up to the mountain.

"How long have you had this?"

Wade scratched the back of his neck. "About an hour. It's already about three hours old. I was kinda sitting on it, because I pretty much guessed what Ron was planning. I was watching on the monitors, that's why I didn't ring in while he was proposing."

"You're a good man." Ron said behind her. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and realized he was no longer wearing the dress shirt and slacks. Somehow he must have been picking up on her skills, since it hadn't taken him any more than two minutes to change into his mission gear.

That made her eyes pop open. Had he just changed right in front of Joss? Sure, the younger teen looked a lot like her, but she was, after all, a fifteen year old with a demonstrated attraction to him.

Kim let out a little sigh when Joss stepped from behind the changing screen. Then she realized her younger cousin had been changing as well. She was now dressed in one of her older sets of mission clothes, making her look all the more like her complete twin. She went and stood near Ron, giving her the odd feeling that she was looking at herself instead of the other girl.

She rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to Wade. "Okay, so if he hasn't been calling over and over, then it might not be so urgent. We'll just take the car this time." She grinned a little wickedly "Oh, and get your 'wide load' over here and get some of this food, or I'm going to have my mother get your mother to bring you in for a full physical."

Wade literally shuddered. If there was one person in the world who hated going to see doctors more than she did, it was he. "Okay, okay, I'll get Mom to drive me over there." The screen winked off and she turned to face the other two, meeting a pair of turquoise eyes specifically.

"What makes you think you're coming along with this?"

"Come on, Kim, it ain't like I haven't dealt with Drakken and Shego before. Besides, I've been doin the Joss thing for a while now. I can handle mah-self pretty dad-burned good, if you ask me."

"Except this time we don't know what we're up against. You saw what Shego was capable of. Now imagine what it would take to actually put her in danger."

"I dunno. You said she was 'spectin a colt of her own. Maybe she ain't on top of her game right now."

"I just want you to know what you might be getting into, Joss. You've been all about helping people, doing big-time rescues and such, you haven't really gone up against that many truly whack villains." Kim warned.

"Gotta start sometime." She grinned, confidently putting her hands on her hips.

Ron draped an arm casually around Joss' shoulders. "She is definitely a Possible."

"Ya got that right." She agreed.

Kim felt like she was cornered. There had been times in the past where, against her better judgment, other people had been brought along on missions. However, Joss really was better prepared than Felix was when they first went up against Motor Ed and, for all appearances, they were really only in the fact-finding phase of the mission.

It dawned on her they actually were taking it to be a mission. Really, if she sat down and thought about it, they were asked for help, and if Sherry really was in trouble, she would help, no matter whether she was an innocent civilian or one of the most dangerous women in the world. That's what she did. They could always sort out the rest later.

"Okay, you're in." Kim opened her hope chest, bringing out one of her older tool belts. "Do you know how to work this stuff?"

"Grappler hook, knockout gas, laser scalpel, check!" She hooked the belt around her waist, letting it hang on her hips a little more rakishly than Kim ever did. She also noted she was wearing the pants an good bit further down on her waist. She couldn't quite tell if that was because Joss had narrower hips, or had simply put them on that way. It certainly looked a lot more daring than she ever dressed.

Kim ducked behind the screen and changed into her own, newer, more snug fitting mission gear. "Rule number one, Joss. If Ron or I tell you to do something, you do it, no questions asked. It's not about showboating and we're not going to worry about any hurt feeling until this is all over. You got it?"

"Sure thing." The younger girl agreed readily.

Kim reached into her desk drawer, producing an older model Kimmunicator. "You know how to work this?"

Joss grinned from ear to ear. "I've studied every feature in a virtual Kimmunicator Wade sent me a while back."

"Okay. Just remember, the main call button connects you directly with Wade. My Kimmunicator is unit one, Ron's is number two. Three and four are Jim and Tim…don't ask me exactly which is which, I forget. They're not coming on this, simply because I usually keep them in reserve. They do mostly rescue and assistance missions, and they're on the same rules as you. That unit, I've assigned number five."

Kim clipped her own unit off of her belt and put it in the more secure pocket strapped to her leg. Instead of relying on the hand-held, she clipped her new bracelet style Kimmunicator to her wrist. It looked like a miniature of the original with a plastic watch style band. It didn't have the sophisticated sensor suit the larger unit had, but it was more convenient for simply keeping in touch.

Ron touched Kim's shoulder as they headed down the stairs. "Be right back KP."

She watched him head out to the deck, returning moments later with a plastic grocery bag.

"Ron, tell me you're not going still hungry after all you ate?"

He had a slightly wounded expression. "Okay, forget I asked that." She said, smiling and taking his free hand as they went to the garage.

"Actually, this is for something else. You'll see."

* * *

They must have driven past the house several times, though mostly by that point it had been on the bus from Middleton High. It was set back a little ways from the road and really wasn't all that visible save for a rustic stick rail protecting the steep staircase leading upwards from the small gravel driveway.

Kim spoke into her bracelet. "You sure this is the place, Wade?"

"That's where the cell phone he used is. I can't get a reading on how many people are inside at the moment, and get this, the place is rented in the name of one Sheila Drake."

"Oh cute." She grimaced, hoping it was only the two of them pretending to live in some kind of wedded bliss. Months ago she confronted Drakken, who swore all he was going to do was look after Shego. If she was going to do something about him, that would have been the time, though somehow it still seemed like it had been the right thing to do.

They were halfway up the steps when the front door swung open. Both Kim and Ron gasped, not prepared for what they saw.

Drakken might have been a bumbling idiot at heart, but he always struck an imposing figure before, all dressed in his dark blue lab coat and boots. The sight of him now was so different, if he were not blue, she would wonder if she was actually looking at the real Drew Lipsky. His hair looked disheveled and that wasn't the only thing. He was dressed in a shabby sweatshirt, jeans with one knee crudely stitched together and his ponytail was loose, making him look more like a skinnier version of his younger cousin, Motor Ed. It was also clear he hadn't shaved in days, and as they approached, they crinkled their noses as it was obvious that wasn't the only thing he hadn't done in that time.

His expression they had seen before, when they loaded him onto the police wagon after the Diablo incident. He looked utterly and totally defeated and, considering the reason they were there in the first place, seriously worried.

"Okay, Doctor Drakken, we're here. What's the sitch?"

* * *

For perhaps the first time in her life, Sherry Lipsky was frightened. Fear was nothing new to her. People in her line of work simply did not live that long unless they were sometimes afraid. Fear, in the proper doses, warned you when it was time to fight of flee.

This was different. Being afraid of a certain situation did not mean she was not in control of it. If there was one thing that mattered most in her life it was being in control.

That was the problem. She wasn't in control. In fact, she had utterly no idea what she was going to do to get herself out of her current jam.

One moment she had been lying on the couch in the little house she was renting, Field Marshall Furball curled up on her expanding belly. She felt like crap, so she simply decided to take it easy. Her back was hurting and she was feeling nauseous again, even though the morning sickness had only actually lasted the first couple months of her pregnancy. She put it down to nerves and the fact she really wasn't eating right, in direct defiance of what Doctor Possible had told her. She felt that way from time to time and knew it was just her body telling her to rest, and she fully intended to listen to it.

The next thing she knew, her cat suddenly leapt up, disappearing wherever it was she got to when something frightened her. She wasn't as skittish as some felines, but she was still just a cat and that meant if there were something she didn't like, she was going to beat it.

Generally speaking, that meant Drakken was home. She considered the cat to be a good judge of character and every time he appeared, she would slink away. The mutual feelings between the disgraced former mad scientist and the solid black Maine coon were becoming the stuff of legend.

Looking at her watch, she wondered if she had dozed off and hadn't realized it. Drew had only been gone about forty five minutes, meaning, if he followed directions and went straight to the Smarty Mart, he only just be getting there. Maybe he got confused about something and had to come back.

She was just getting up, her back complaining angrily when a hand wrapped around her mouth. Her first instinct was to flare up her power and throw whoever was grabbing her into the nearest wall. She only half completed the thought when she remembered, she wasn't going to use the power under any circumstances. There was little choice early in her pregnancy. It wasn't until several weeks after she found out that she learned how to switch the effects of her power off. In fact, she hadn't 'gone green' since then. Her "Glow Power" was a form of mutagenic radiation and she didn't want to expose her daughter to that any more until she was born. There was no telling what else the power was doing to her physically, and she didn't want to take that chance.

But what if that meant surviving? What good would it do her and her child if she were killed?

In the time it took to consider that possibility, it was already too late. The hand was holding a cloth soaked with some kind of soporific. The next thing she knew, she was in a dark, windowless room.

At least whoever had her wanted her to be reasonably comfortable. She was lying in a soft, bed, covered up, her head propped with several pillows. There was a bad moment as she considered what may have happened while she was out, but she discovered she was still wearing the same sweat pants and nurse's scrub she had on when she was taken, save for the fact somebody had taken her tennis shoes off and laid them beside the bed.

The door was locked, though that really didn't worry her overly much. There must be something in the room she could use to defeat it. Even so, locks were no problem for her. Even the door, which felt fairly stout to her wouldn't last long with some well placed blasts of her green glow. She pondered the possibility of using it while she checked out the rest of the room.

Save for the fact it was hewn from rock and had no exterior window, it looked for all the world like somebody's bedroom. There was a dresser, a nightstand and off to one side a small bathroom with a stand-up shower. The drawers were empty a the moment, making her think all of this had been recently assembled in the small room.

The furniture was modern and cheap, composed mostly of plastic laminated molded particle board, made to look like it was actually made of wood. She knew the type quite well, to save as much money as possible, that is how she had furnished her home. It was her intention to stay there as long as possible, even after Amethyst came. She wanted to do everything in her power to give the child as stable a home as she possibly could. The fact she was living with Drew and was a former villain notwithstanding.

The problem with the furnishings, there were no nails or anything she could pry out of them to pick the locks. She didn't know if that was intentional on the part of her captors, or just a lucky happenstance.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she summoned her power from deep within herself. She didn't know what was on the other side of that door, but she was going to find out. She pointed her hand at the door to fire a concentrated beam at the lock mechanism.

Nothing happened.

Frowning, she looked at her hands. They should have been wreathed in glowing green energy. For some reason, her powers simply were not working. Not only that, but her hands, which should have turned a pale mint-green, were simply pale flesh colored.

She went back to the dresser, looking in the attached mirror. That's when she noticed the collar around her neck. It looked a lot like the choker Kimmie wore from time to time, but there was no hook or Velcro to take it off. It was made of some kind of unyielding plastic, and there was no obvious connecting mechanism. Watching herself in the mirror, she tried summoning the power once more. The metal disk in the center glowed slightly, then winked out.

Whatever the collar was, it was blocking her abilities.

It wasn't long before she realized her watch was taken as well. Without any means of seeing the outside world, she lost all track of time. Eventually, she dozed off, sitting on the floor, leaning against the foot of the bed.

She woke up some time later, to find a plate of steaming food sitting on a folding stand. She carefully inspected it, but finally gave into her hunger. At any other time in her life she would have starved before giving in like that, but she knew it would not be healthy for her child. Whoever had he was obviously counting on her attitude. They even seemed to know she would not physically try battering down the door, for the same reason.

That didn't mean she wasn't going to try. There was always the bed frame, and the parts of the furniture. She might end up sitting in a room full of smashed particle board, but that was better than doing nothing.

However, the time for that had not yet come. She could be patient. It was time to learn what she was up against, and that meant letting it come to her.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	26. Part XXVI – Cooped Up

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXVI – Cooped Up**

* * *

Ron watched with interest as Doctor Drakken wolfed down the plate of traditional Thanksgiving food he put together for him. He wasn't quite sure what had come over him, making him do that, unless it was just for the good feeling he got when he produced the paper plate loaded with goodies. Drakken might have been one of the most whack villains on the planet, but on that particular day he was sitting in his home alone, fretting about where his friend was.

He thought it was kind of funny that he could see something between the two of them, even before he realized the same was true about Kim and him. Then he shuddered visibly when he carried that line of thought to its logical conclusion. No, they were more like what Drakken called them when they visited with the remnants of Team Go. They were really a sort of evil family.

However, he didn't quite feel the same way about Shego as Kim did. He wasn't around for all that 'girl-talk' the two of them did while they were trying to rescue Neil and him back at the end of summer, and for some odd reason, Kim really didn't talk about it all that much. That could have been because she saw Neil die, but it still left him with a very incomplete picture of why they were supposed to trust the one-time mint-hued woman now.

Well, at least this wasn't totally about trust. It was about being true to what they really stood for. They were once again saving the bad guy. The worst thing he actually wished on Shego was for somebody to snap some cuffs on her writs, and he didn't even know if that was appropriate any more considering how Kim felt on the matter. As far as he was concerned, if Kim said she was okay, then he knew she was, whether he understood why or not.

Ron was also a little surprised at Joss. It was one thing, a couple summers ago, for a twelve year old to hang on his every word. At that age, it was a 'cute' crush. Now the attention he was getting from her was more than a little disconcerting. It didn't help that, at a quick glance, she looked a lot like Kim. In fact, if it weren't for the fact she smelled like mangos and oranges instead of lavender and soap, he would have thought it was Kim kissing him on the cheek several times over the last couple days.

It was pretty clear Kim had noticed all that as well, though for some reason she was handling it better than Ron would have expected. He had been utterly blind to the way she was acting over Yori when they went to rescue Sensei, at least until she mentioned 'jelling', but now he was much better attuned to her reactions. Maybe she thought it was all still cute and innocent.

What he saw in Joss' eyes when she looked at him wasn't quite so innocent. He couldn't help but think the girl's love-life had progressed somewhat further than Kim's had at fifteen. She wasn't worrying if somebody was going to take her to the dance, she was worrying who she was going to let take her to the dance, and what she was going to do afterwards. The Texas born Montanan may look a lot like Kim, but she was much, much more of a wild child.

Why didn't cute (make that hot) fifteen year old girls get crushes on him when he was fifteen?

Well, no, that wasn't completely fair either. Most girls were looking for something that he wasn't, or at least he wasn't then. He was short, even skinnier, built a bit like somebody was holding a sack of something loose. He was a total slacker, with bad grades, goofy looks and the only thing he seemed to have going for him was being best friends with Kim.

He scowled for a moment. People seemed to be assuming he had a more significant relationship with Kim long before he even considered the remote possibility. Could it be that everyone really did assume they were together, and other girls perhaps feared Kim's wrath if they were to come between them? No, that couldn't be it. They ignored him (and actually fled him) because he was just a pathetic loser. There, he said it, at least to himself. He really was a loser then. He wasn't now, but he had to be honest with himself. He was a loser and it was his fault. He was the one who didn't care about his grades, how he looked, how other people felt about him. He was the one who blew off studying in favor of playing video games. He was the one who basically climbed out of bed and shook the 'pillow head' out of his hair every morning. He was the one who thought clothes from Smarty Mart were basically okay.

He chuckled slightly. Ron still wasn't quite sure where Kim had gotten the relatively new pants he was wearing, but his black turtleneck was from the discount retailer, as were his socks, the leather belt holding the pants up, even the black hiking boots had come from there. Okay, so he wasn't the coolest guy on the planet, he'd learned a lot about what was really important in life and he also knew all that fancy stuff didn't really matter all that much to Kim.

At least as long as she didn't have to wear the cheap stuff herself.

Joss being brought along for the mission puzzled him slightly. The rescue up in Montana was a family thing, with Jim and Tim brought along for good measure. It was also pretty much Uncle Slim's show at that point anyway, since he was the one providing the cybernetic horses and all. One of these first days he was going to have to ask if he would have gotten the same turnout if it was just him captured by Drakken and Shego.

That thought brought him back to the moment. Kim was wandering around the house, waving her hand-held Kimmunicator around like an ancient magic wand. Obviously, Wade was doing some kind of technical thingy he still couldn't completely understand. Maybe she would find something they could use. To his eyes there wasn't much to go on. It was the first time he had seen their former arch foes in their personal living space and it was strangely normal. As a 'couple' the two didn't appear to be especially neat or prone to do much cleaning. Perhaps they always had the henchmen to do that in the past, or maybe there was a reason they never actually saw their bedrooms.

It wasn't as if he could say anything bad about Shego since she tended to strew her dirty clothes all over her room. He was the same way, and to some degree, so was Kim, and the villainous duo didn't have Mrs. Dr. P. to pick up after them.

He heard a soft growling, quickly realizing it was Rufus, who was hanging out of his pocket. He turned to look at what had his little friend's attention.

Ron wondered if the cat actually remembered him. She (he? The cat was so fluffy he couldn't rightly tell) bugged her green eyes, then took off running for parts unknown. Maybe the little monster remembered him after all, though apparently its fur came back without any problem.

He had a thought that seemed a little selfish to him. He had not so much as formally proposed to Kim that they were off on another mission. That may have been their lot in life, but he really wished he could have spent the rest of the evening with just Kim, even if it only involved snuggling on the couch since Joss would be in Kim's room. Maybe they could have even gone to his house. They had a hard time getting any rest in his tiny bed, but rest wasn't exactly what he had in mind. Oh well, like Kim always said, there's a time and a place.

But dang it! He wanted some time and he had the place!

Wade's voice drifted to him over the Kimmunicator. "Not picking up too much, just some common household pollutants…wait, I think I've got something."

"What's that?" Kim asked.

"Poly synthetic soporoform. I'm reading traces of it in the air, especially in the living room."

Ron looked over Kim's shoulder, momentarily distracted by the smell of her shampoo. He really needed to get his head in the game. "So, just in case Kim doesn't know what that is?" He asked.

"Think of it as a twenty-first century equivalent of chloroform. I don't think I have to tell you what that means."

"It means Sherry really was kidnapped." Kim agreed with a scowl.

"Whoever did it must have done their research. Either that or they're just lucky. That stuff is a whole lot safer for her condition. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that means they need her unharmed."

"But why would somebody want her now? She's been off the villain community's radar for more than a year now." She turned and looked Drakken straight in the eye. "Tell it to me straight, Drakken. Have you been up to something that would have anyone's attention?"

"Kimberly, your words hurt." He said plaintively.

"Drakken!" She narrowed her eyes at him.

He went over to his desk, picking up a partially completed model of a RAF Super-Tornado. "I swear, this is all I have been working on. If the rest of the villainous community wants one, they can go to any hobby shop!"

Kim huffed slightly. Wade hadn't been able to pick up any indications of anything higher tech than the high-def television in the den. If he was building some new doomsday device, it wasn't here. In reality, they were not terribly far from the sprawling base he once used for the early stages of his Diablo attack, but it had been sitting empty save for a detachment of Global Justice guards since he tried grabbing that high-tech fighter ship. Lacking any evidence to the contrary, she had to trust Drakken at his word.

"So, have either of you managed to tick anybody off lately?" Ron asked, still looking for where the cat had run off to.

He just shrugged his shoulders. "We really haven't seen all that many people since we've been hiding out here."

Kim was scowling. "This isn't making too much sense. Somebody grabbed her who possibly knew she was pregnant. The only thing I can think of was that somehow they figured she might be an easier target, especially if she were unwilling to fight back as hard as she is capable of normally. Have you noticed anything, maybe, like about her health in general?"

"A doctor has been coming here regularly to check on her and she seemed okay, I guess."

Ron leaned over to Kim's ear. "What if somebody got to this doctor. That way they'd know what her condition was like."

"Good call." She whispered back. "Drakken, who is this doctor?"

"I honestly don't know." He sat down in a shabby looking easy chair. "She ran me out of the house every time he was supposed to come over. I didn't even get a look at him. You don't think…"

"…that her doc is involved? Don't know. It's the only thing we have to go on. How was she getting in touch with her doctor?"

"I don't know. Maybe this." He reached into his pocket and produced a cell phone, handing it to Kim.

"Maybe I can download the call memory." Wade said. "Hook it up to the Kimmunicator."

Kim opened the face of the phone and stopped cold. "Wade, when you traced this phone, what was the number?"

"Hold on…oh man! You're not going to believe this."

"I bet I am." She moaned, looking at the sticker just above the tiny screen that read "Property of Middleton Medical Center."

* * *

Sherry sat in the center of the bed, studying every nook and cranny of the room with keen interest. So far she had not seen her captors even once, yet, the two times she had fallen asleep, trays of fresh food appeared. Somebody was going to great lengths to keep from being seen.

One thing that told her was that she was somehow being watched. If they only appeared when they were certain she was asleep, then there had to be some kind of cameras involved. Perhaps they had something even more sophisticated than that. She tried shamming, curling up in the bed and keeping her eyes closed, but nobody appeared, at least while she knew she was awake. There was no way to tell how long she was like that, especially since she really did fall asleep after a while.

By that point she was certain she had now been awake more than twenty four hours. If this went on much longer, she was going to make an attempt to batter the door down after all. This was just plain, pure nuts! What purpose did it serve to keep her cooped up in a room without anyone to talk to?

Oddly enough, she found herself missing Drakken. When she left him before, she always ended up around other people, either with that hunky guy she met at the billionaire's club or when she ended up living with Neil for a while.

That thought had her almost ready to cry. It seemed she always realized some things too late. Only minutes after it finally came to her that she still loved him, he was gone. Not merely gone, not simply dead, but not even mere atoms. When the matter/anti-matter device had malfunctioned, even the most basic components of his being were ripped apart. Only mementos of him were put in his coffin for his funeral, and even of those, all she could remember was the solid black Team Go uniform her brothers provided.

It seemed Drakken was really all she had left. He came to her, professing friendship, and if she really thought about it, he probably was exactly that. He was still somewhat of a buffoon in his own right, but his buffoonery was a source of comfort for her. He had even given up his ambitions of taking over the world in order to take care of her in her time of need. Granted, he was a terrible cook, a terrible conversationalist and extraordinarily bad at household chores, but he did try. She almost wished he were there to force feed her some of his 'cocoa moo.'

Her stomach was rumbling. It had indeed been quite a while since she had any food. This was just getting to be too much. Was this some kind of strange prison, where they would keep her until the baby came? That was still three months off at that point, and there was no way she was going to be cooped up all that time, whether she was in the hands of the authorities, or some other unknown villain. At least if this had been the FBI or Global Justice she would have been visited by an interrogator by now, and would have been offered the chance to call her lawyer. There were rules those people had to live by.

Or were there? How did they know she had foresworn that old life? After all, she was supposed to be one of the most dangerous people on earth. Even without her glow power, she was an expert in several forms of Kung-fu and had even trained in one of the lesser ninja schools for a time. What if somebody in a position of authority had finally decided she was too dangerous to be allowed the normal rights even criminals were supposed to have?

That still didn't make total sense to her. It would be far easier to have a sniper take her out from a distance than to drop her in a hole like this and forget about her, pregnancy or not. All it would take was somebody who could do the math. The good of the many outweighing the good of a single unborn child. After all, she lived in a country that allowed abortion. She never really thought that much about it before, until the day her pregnancy test turned positive. Suddenly she found that whole prospect reprehensible.

That did it, she was not going to debate the abortion issue with herself. It was time to act.

"Okay, I'm willing to be you can hear me. Just wanted to give you fair warning. I'm going to start with the dresser. Not much going on there anyway since I'm still wearing the same clothes I had on when you grabbed me, which, by the way, are starting to get a little funky since I'd already been wearing them for more than a day. I'm either going to see how good that door is, or I'm going to be sitting in little pieces of particle board in here unless somebody can tell me what the hell is going on!" She built up steam as she went, ripping one of the drawers out of the aforementioned piece of furniture.

"Heck, maybe I can smash that mirror and start doing some more damage that way!" She threw the drawer at the door with all her might. It smashed against it, not even making a dent, which was pretty much what she was expecting.

"You listening to me?" She pulled another drawer out. Maybe she could do something with the metal rails after all. "Somebody better start talking or pretty soon I'm going to start running out of drawers." She smashed the second one against the door, still not doing any more damage than the first one did.

"Now, now, Miss Godfrey. There is no reason to resort to violence." Said a calm, collected voice over a hidden speaker.

That got her attention. If she could find where the voice was coming from, maybe she could find some of the cameras/sensors as well. All she had to do was keep this guy talking."

"I'll show you violence if I don't get some answers!" She screamed, ripping a third drawer out.

"Perhaps a question is in order. Who do you trust?"

"What? I don't trust anybody! I can't trust anybody!"

"Good answer. Now, please, put the drawer down. The door is fully reinforced. Without your powers, there is nothing in your room that will affect it in the least."

She stood her ground, not quite ready to surrender the only thing she could hold that even resembled a weapon, though she didn't hurl it at the exit this time.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded.

"All in good time. Another question for you. Who have you been forced to trust?"

"What?"

The voice went on. It seemed to be coming from above her, but she found she just couldn't isolate exactly where. "You are Sherry Lynette Godfrey, also known as Shego, also known as Sheila Ogehs, most recently known, rather amusingly, as Sheila Drake. Born April fifteenth, nineteen eighty two. Former member of Team Go, currently, or should I say apparently currently in the employ of one Drew Lipsky, perhaps better known as Doctor Drakken."

"So what are you, Global Justice? Sounds a lot like you're just reading the files they've got on me. I know most of my old aliases were blown."

"No, this is not Global Justice." Was there an edge to that voice now. "Would Global Justice know that you are currently six months pregnant, carrying a female child?"

That stopped her cold. As far as she knew, the only people who knew her condition were Team Possible and…

"How the hell did you know that?"

"I will ask you again, Miss Godfrey, or would you prefer Shego?"

"Godfrey." She said through clenched teeth.

"Who exactly do you trust? You can say all day long you trust no one, but there are times when we are forced to at least appear to trust someone."

She hefted the drawer again. "Look, you either tell me what the hell is going on, or there's not going to be anything left in this room. I've been in here for what seems like days."

"I do apologize for not speaking to you sooner. I have been indisposed dealing with other matters."

"I don't care if you've been on the crapper for three days constipated, you either tell me who you are or I start smashing."

"Really, Miss Godfrey. Is that any way to treat somebody who may be your greatest ally?"

"Who…are…you?" She growled.

The lock on the door clicked, and a heavyset, middle aged man with upswept reddish brown hair and a neat Vandyke stepped inside. She quickly noted he had a patch over one eye and one of his hands was either covered in a metal glove, or was some sort of bionics.

"I am Gemini."

"Yeah, and I am Aries. What the hell is going on here, patch?"

"What is going on here, my dear, is that you have the honor of being invited to become my new Agent Alpha."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	27. Part XXVII – They Grow Up So Fast

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXVII – They Grow Up So Fast**

* * *

Anne had been humming almost constantly as she cleaned up from dinner. The Stoppables had already taken Catherine Jean home, Kim, Ron and Joss had run off on a mission and the twins managed to disappear as soon as their extended dinner was finished, which really didn't last very long after Ron's formal proposal. She started off humming the wedding march for a while as she gathered the mostly empty dishes and packed away the mountain of leftovers, later switching to that pop tune her daughter and her fiancé always called 'their song.' 

James and Slim were nearby, helping as best they could with the cleanup. Her husband was only slightly more use in the kitchen as Kim, but he could dry and put away dishes just fine, so that's what he was left to do. Slim was faring somewhat better. If he carried the non-domestic gene that seemed so dominant in James and Kim, he didn't show it. Perhaps all the years of being the sole provider for his small family had overcome it.

She felt a little sad for the older man. He had a pretty tough go of it in life. He lost his wife, the elder Jocelyn Possible, to an accident just over ten years ago. Not long after that, he moved from his long-time home in Texas up some property he had up in Montana which eventually became the Lazy C Ranch. It was a working ranch, primarily raising beef cattle, but it also doubled as an outlet for his hobby of building cyber-robotic inventions like his robot horses. The man was brilliant about it, though somewhat modest as well.

Anne caught herself as she unconsciously slipped back into humming wedding music. Not once had she ever heard even the hint of him seeing other women, though the distance that separated their two families would easily keep that from reaching him. It was really a shame that Joss didn't have some sort of mother figure in her life.

"I really hate it that you can't stay another night, Slim." She said finally as she drained the sink for the final time.

"Can't be helped there, darlin'. Too much to do up at the Lazy C. Gonna be cuttin' time soon, if you catch which way I'm driftin' and a sure do want to be around so a certain someone gets a certain message."

She smiled warily, shuddering thinking what 'cutting time' must mean where it came to cattle. She pulled off her dishwashing gloves as the rest of his comment sunk in. Something sounded vaguely familiar about that.

"I take it Joss is starting to notice boys."

"Startin'? More worried 'bout them there cowpokes startin' ta notice her."

"I can see why. She's turning into a beautiful young woman. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just nature taking its course."

"Red." She grimaced slightly. He was the one person in the world who could get away with calling her that, though it still bugged her. "No disrespect and all, but it ain't like she's got a good guy like Ronald there for her. Why, just last week I caught her kissin one of my hands. I swear, I was 'bout to drag him right outta there and show him just how many glitches Old Tornado still has in his get-a-long. She may look like a pretty young thing, but she's still just a youngun. Ain't right her kissin like that."

Anne just smiled and shook her head. "Slim, she's got to grow up sooner or later."

"Well, far's I'm concerned, it can be later. Whatta you think Squirt?"

James sighed. "In my opinion they all grow up too fast, but if you want grandkids, I wouldn't be too restrictive. You aren't exactly a spring chicken, you know."

Anne marveled how close the two seemed. Slim was more than a decade older than his brother, which was one of the main reasons he still called him 'Squirt' even though James was slightly taller and somewhat broader in build.

"I reckon so, but much as she looks like Kim, she's still just barely fifteen and she's already actin' like she's twenty one. I'm still surprised how well you're takin' all this marriage talk with your oldest, considerin' she's only eighteen herself."

"I think that has a lot to do with who she's marrying." Anne said. "Plus the fact they're planning on a very long engagement."

Slim laughed a little bit. "You ask me, I'd say you'd be plenty happy if they were walkin' down the aisle right quick-like. I'd be hard pressed to tell who was happier this afternoon, you or Kim."

"I'm happy for the two of them. I used to think like that, but the way they're going about things is just fine now. If I was rushing things, it was because I was afraid Kim wasn't going to realize just how important Ron was to her. Maybe I was just thinking if they went ahead and got married, it would cement their relationship, but now I know that's not necessary." Anne looked sidelong at her husband, who was clear across the room from them. "If you're too worried about Joss…getting ahead of herself…then you really need to sit down and explain stuff to her."

"Humph. Did that. Girl knows a whole lot more about the birds and the bees than I did when I was a youngun. She had to, since she helps out with the ranch and all."

"Um, that part's okay. Kim knew about all that mechanical stuff since she was little. What's really important, though, is knowing what's behind all of that. It's fine to know how it all works and what can happen physically, but what she really needs to know is what the emotional impact of her actions will have."

"Easier said than done. I'm havin' a hard enough time jus keepin' an eye on her, 'specially since she's all hell-bent on goin' on all these 'missions' like Kim does. I'm afraid I'm gonna be a granddad before she finishes High School at this rate."

"I know it's tough. I almost made that mistake with Kim myself. Ron's the first guy in her life who's an honest to goodness boyfriend and she went overnight from a shy little girl who could act like an adult when she was fighting some freak, to a grown woman seriously in love. She came really close to taking some steps that she knows now would have been a mistake at that age, and I credit both her and Ron for making the right decisions at the time."

"What mistakes?" James asked, putting the last of the dishes away.

"I said she made the right decisions." She replied, shooting her husband a look.

James eyed her warily. "Slim, you have to set down some rules for her. She'll respect that."

"Sure hope so, but she's startin' to get a little wild, if you know what I mean." He pulled up one of the chairs at the breakfast nook and sat down. "Maybe she could stand for a little more discipline in her life. You know, see somebody day after day who's a good example for her. Can't say as I'd be the one, considerin' how I left home to go work a dude ranch when I was seventeen. Breaks my heart to think she might want to do the same thing."

"What are you saying? That she should come live with us?" James slid into his normal position at the end of the table, idly picking up the paper he'd already read twice.

"Maybe. Ya'll are fine, upstanding sorts of people, and 'cept for getting engaged so young your Kim is the finest example I can think of, an don't get started on me about how old my Jocelyn was neither."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Anne poured them each a mug of coffee and set them on the table before taking a seat beside her husband. "As for her coming here, if she wants to, we'd be glad to have her, though I don't know how much longer Kim is going to be living under this roof."

"Huh?" James asked, letting the paper fall back to the table.

"Oh, come on, James. She's eighteen, she's going to college. Do you honestly think she's going to stay here all the way through college? I don't think it will be this year, or maybe even the next, but I'm willing to be she will eventually get herself a place with Ron. They spend so much time together anyway."

James rubbed his temples. This was certainly not something he cared to think about. Only hours earlier he had given his blessing to the kids and he was already being confronted with the possibility that they would be moving on. It was one thing for them to go on their little trips together, ostensibly 'playing house.' It was another thing completely to realize the situation really was nearing permanency.

Anne put a reassuring hand on her husband's. "Count yourself lucky they're going to school here in town. You're getting at least an extra year. Look at all of her other friends. They've gone to schools all over the country and their parents have already had to say goodbye."

Slim was looking a little sad as well. "Yeah, the house sure would feel empty without her, specially without her yellin' from one end of the place to the other. Why, just the other day I bet she woke up all those city slickers stayin' at the Crooked D just tryin' to tell me how she'd saved a hundred head of cattle from drownin' in that flash flood."

James smiled again. "She sure is a Possible."

"Darn straight." His brother agreed, taking a long drink of black coffee. Anne watched as he downed the whole mug. So that's where Kim got it from.

The house was quiet enough they could all hear the garage door open. The twins had fled through the family room door, so Anne assumed that would be the rest of the kids. Sure enough, moments later Kim came into the kitchen.

"How did the mission go, Kimmie?"

"It's still on. Can I talk to you a minute, Mom?"

She glanced at James, who shrugged. Getting up, she followed her daughter into the sitting room.

"Mom, exactly how does Doctor Drakken have the cell phone you lost a couple months ago?"

"Drew Lipsky? I thought…"

"Mom?" Kim cocked her head at her.

"Honestly, I don't know how he could have gotten that phone. I loaned it to someone so she could keep in touch with me."

"This 'friend' you were seeing up near Mount Middleton?"

"Yes. She didn't have a phone then, so I thought that was the best way we could keep in touch. Maybe she lost it and he…"

Kim shook her head. "Mom, don't lie to me. This is important. You're the doctor who's been taking care of Sherry, aren't you?"

"Kim, you know I can't talk about my patients."

"Mom, I know you probably promised to keep it all a secret, but it looks like somebody has kidnapped her. I think it's a lot more important to know what you do than keeping a secret. You know it won't go any further than me."

Anne's shoulders slumped. Kim had read her as easily as she could read her daughter, and Kim knew precisely just how important doctor/patient confidentiality was. She wouldn't have been asking unless she thought it was critical.

"Yes. She came to me and asked if I could help her, so long as I didn't reveal where she was to anyone, including you. I knew she was staying with someone, I just didn't think it would be him."

"Well, that's the problem. Somebody else knew she was there. We just came from her place and it seems whoever got her knew her condition. Are you sure you haven't told anyone else?"

"I'm certain, Kimmie. I've even borrowed the supplies I used so I wouldn't have to sign them out of the Medical Center. The only place I've recorded any of this is on my personal computer, and nothing there has any link to what I'm doing. Honestly, all I've been doing are routine examinations of her pregnancy, and even that I'm only doing the basics. Heaven knows, I've been trying to convince her to see a real obstetrician, especially considering what she has been through."

Kim frowned. "Okay, is your computer here?"

"It's in my room. Oh, I think Wade knows who I've been caring for, but I haven't specifically told him. I sent him a DNA sample to examine to see if her power has affected the baby in any way, and I'm sure he could tell who the mother is."

A little mote of anger flashed in her daughter's eyes. Anne immediately realized what she was thinking. "Don't blame Wade, honey. When I contacted him I told him this was the utmost secret. There's no way he knows where she was staying."

"Don't put it past him. He can figure out just about anything. If he knew he was looking at her child's DNA, he would have followed up, if only for his own curiosity and if he felt it would somehow protect us. Now, that laptop?"

She followed her to their room. The computer was still in her bags, where it had sat since she came home from the hospital two days ago for her holiday. Kim sat down on the bed, activating the computer and connecting her Kimmunicator to it. Moments later, Wade appeared on the screen.

"Got anything Wade?"

"Yes, and none of it good, I'm afraid. It looks to me like somebody has been digging around in the files."

"That's not possible." Anne said. "Everything is encrypted."

"Sorry, Doctor Possible, but the encryptions you were using were just commercial grade stuff. Fine for keeping most data safe, but whoever did this was a professional. I need to do a little digging to see if they left any tracks."

* * *

Ron sat down on the couch across from Joss, digging into a turkey and ham sandwich he had made from some of the leftovers. He might have stuffed himself silly only a few hours earlier, but being Ron, he was already hungry again. Rufus was on the table devouring the cheese topping on a cold twice-baked potato. 

He swallowed and looked right at Kim's younger cousin. "Would you quit that?"

"Quit what?" She asked.

"Quit looking at me like that. You're reminding me of Kim."

Joss shrugged. "So. People think I look like her all the time. Why, just last week another rancher called me Kim and he's known me and Daddy since we moved to Montana."

"Nuh uh, that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what?" She smiled at him, leaning forward.

"That! When Kim looks at me like that, she's usually, well, wanting a kiss."

Joss sat back, quietly laughing. "Well, maybe I want a kiss, ever think about that?"

"Aw, come on, Joss. That's just wrong."

"Relax, Ron. I ain't gonna come over there and kiss ya. Just yankin' yer chain. Gotta say, it was worth it, considerin' the look on yer face just then."

Apparently she wasn't done doing that either. She got up out of the chair and sat down right beside him, hooking her arm around his just as she had done the night before. Only then Kim had been in the room and the whole gesture seemed so much more…innocent.

"Not exactly my comfort zone there." He nervously remarked. "Besides, aren't I a little old for you?"

"Oh, come on. Yer just eighteen. What's three years. Besides, yer kinda like family." She relented and let go of his arm, though she didn't move back to the separate chair. "Yer sweatin' like a bull at cuttin' time, but it's kinda cute, if you ask me."

"I'm not even going to ask what that means. Really Joss, you're freaking me out. I mean, you do look just like Kim, especially wearing her clothes like that."

She grinned wickedly at him. "So, yer sayin' I'm kinda cute?" She put her fingertips on her knees and cocked her head to one side, batting her eyelashes.

That was enough for Ron. He got up and started pacing the room. "What's taking Kim so long? I thought she had a lead."

"Okay, Ron, I'm done playin' ya. Yeah, I admit it, I kinda think you're cute and all, but there ain't no way in this world I'd ever do anything to come 'tween you and cousin Kim. So relax."

"It's kinda hard to. Maybe if you'd part your hair in the middle again, or maybe, I dunno, get your own look. Like I wear charcoal pants instead of olive."

"Actually, I've been wearing desert color army pants. Just didn't think to bring them this time, so I raided Kim's stuff."

"Okay, lesson one, if you're going to be doing missions, that means having mission gear handy at all times. Let me tell you, that time I had to go to Drakken's lair wearing Kim's cheerleader uniform…" He stared at her for a moment. She looked like she was going to bust out laughing. "Oh, come on, you know about every other mission, surely you know about the time we got our brains switched."

"Sorry. Yeah, I know that one. Just picturin' you all dressed up in a skirt like ya are right now." She was holding her sides, still giggling.

"Well, anyway, we've got a spare set in Kim's car and she's got some at my house too. Let me tell you, I sure wish we had some mission clothes when we went up against Señor Senior Sr. in Mexico last spring."

"I thought he kidnapped you right from the Prom. Does that mean I'm supposed to keep em with me like I'm some kinda superhero? I can see it now, bein' at church Sunday morning and Professor Dementor strikes and I rip mah dress right off in front of everybody with my turtleneck an combat boots on."

"Well, er, no. But it would have been nice. I think it broke Mister Horowitz's heart when that new tuxedo got torn up, and Kim had to wear a GJ jumpsuit back. All we've got left of our prom clothes are pictures now."

Finally he quit pacing and sat down, though a couple feet further from Joss. She just smiled, scooted right up to him and planted a little kiss on his cheek. "Like I said, you sure are cute. 'Specially when you blush like that."

"Okay, let's saddle up. Wade's got a fix on who got into Mom's computer." Kim strode into the room, not paying their proximity any mind."

"I was about to say the same thing." Slim wandered in, toting his suitcases. "Got a plane to catch if we want to be back in Montana tonight."

"But Daddy, we're in the middle of a mission."

"I'm sure your cousin can handle it, little darlin, but we've got our own chores to take care of."

"Uncle Slim, I'm sure we can get Joss back." Kim said. "She's started with this, and if she wants to be a part of the team, she needs to learn how to see it through."

Slim pondered for a moment. "I don't know about this, though I can switch her ticket. Tell you what, you have her back in time to get to school Monday and we'll talk about that team thing then."

"You've got it, Uncle Slim. Besides, Ron and I have class ourselves and if I'm right, we should be back in time for leftovers dinner tomorrow."

"So." Ron sidled up to Kim, glad to be 'rescued' from her cousin's attention for at least a moment. "Where are we going?"

"We're headin' for the hills a East Tennessee." She said in a close approximation of Joss' accent. "Time for a little hunting expedition!"

* * *

Gemini stepped from around the control console in the center of his raised platform. "My faithful associates. We have come a long way from the dark days when our hated enemy destroyed our base in the Atlantic. Through your tireless efforts we have rebuilt the World Wide Evil Empire. Much that was lost has been regained." He scratched the back of his tiny dog's head as it sat shivering in his arms, yapping every so often as his master spoke.

"Today, we are ready to begin our quest to spread evil and chaos throughout the world. Today our preparations are complete. Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present to you my new right hand. Introducing my second in command and instrument of the new world order we shall usher in. I give you..."

"...Agent Alpha!"

He gestured grandly with his free hand and a figure dressed in a uniform strikingly similar to his, save for a hooded cowl and the Greek letter alpha emblazoned on her chest. The smile Sherry gave them sent chills down their spines.

_Oh yes, this works_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	28. Part XXVIII – Transit

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXVIII – Transit **

* * *

There was something odd about leaning up against a cold metal bulkhead in the back of a cargo plane. Somehow or another, Kim found it almost as comfortable as being in her own bed. There was a certain natural 'rightness' about it that was hard to explain.

It was a good thing she could be comfortable like that. The plane didn't leave until almost midnight and it would take hours to cross the greater part of the country, even at top speed. Sure, she could have tried Wade's not-quite-complete supersonic flyer, but it had the drawback of only being built to carry two and the majority of the equipment was not properly tested. Her final decision was that it just wasn't ready to use in the field, and she wanted to get some short hops under her belt before she trusted it.

That meant their remaining options were either calling GJ for a ride, or relying on their old network of favors. This trip they had to be especially careful who they asked, since it all had to be 'off the radar' so to speak. That was why they had to wait so late for the plane to leave, they were merely hitching a ride on a plane who's flight plan took them over their intended target.

As she dozed leaning against Ron's shoulder, she thought he should be the one using her as a pillow, not the other way around. He really had a long day, sleeping on the couch, getting up early to help with meals all day long, then riding up to Sherry's house, back down the mountain, then riding out to the airport to wait for their plane to take off. Still, for a guy who normally guarded his sleep time jealously, he hadn't uttered a peep. Instead, he just assumed his accustomed 'mission travel' position, though since they were together he added wrapping his arms around her as she napped.

Joss didn't look as comfortable. So far, her idea of getting to her missions was either on horseback or at least easy driving distance. She already had a learner's permit and had been driving her father's pickup on their property since she was thirteen. At least she had the opportunity to learn that Kim never did. She just assumed when she went for her own driving exam that all her experience with high-performance vehicles would pay off. It didn't work out that way. She could jump a four-wheeler onto the top of a speeding train, but keeping a car under control at reasonable speeds? That was a whole other ballgame.

Kim woke up perhaps a couple hours into the flight and blinked a couple times in the near darkness. Her eyes met up with Joss'. The younger woman was sitting across the cargo bay from them, obviously giving them some semblance of privacy. She knew from the look in the girl's eyes she hadn't gotten any sleep. If it had been a cattle truck or a barn, then maybe she would have been able to rest, but the cool, bumpy aircraft ride was still alien to her. Well, this was what she wanted. It was all part of the package.

Ron was snoring softly, and that made her happy. At least he was getting some of the rest he deserved, though he was probably going to have a stiff neck if her stayed that way too long. She set the chronometer in her wrist Kimmunicator to go off about an hour before they reached their destination. That way she would have a chance to work the kinks out of his neck. It would cut into his sleep time, but she had other plans for later, and hopefully both of them would get some proper rest.

She felt Ron's hand tighten slightly on her waist. She was wearing her black commando sweater over the top of her mission clothes, but his hand had wormed its way up under it. She didn't mind that. In fact, she really enjoyed it and wished for a moment she hadn't extended the high tech material of her top over her midriff, even though it was a chilly late-November night. Even after dating for a year and a half, she still couldn't get enough of his touch, even when it was a simple, innocent thing like his hand on her waist.

"You awake, KP?"

"Mmm hmm." She responded softly, letting her head sink down into the crook of his arm. She could take on the world, as long as in the end she was able to be in his arms.

"Remember when we promised there were no secrets?"

"Yeah." She opened her eyes, a little concerned where that might be leading.

"Well, I think your cousin has a crush on me."

She closed her eyes again, smiling softly. "You can file that under 'duh' baby."

"You knew?"

"Honey, I knew that the first time you met her. Personally, I think it's kind of cute."

"Cute? You're the one who went all 'jell' over Yori. How's this any different?"

"I dunno. Maybe because she's family. Maybe it's because this time I know how you feel. You're telling me about it, aren't you? The whole deal with Yori was me getting worried that you found somebody and would be drifting away from me, and that was stupid because I didn't really have any claim on you, at least not that way. Besides, considering the talk we had last night, if Joss was really into you, we'd both know it. She's got a boyfriend, you know."

"Yeah, I kind of figured she might, but it just weirds me out when she looks at me like that, you know, the way she looks so much like you."

"She doesn't look that much like me. Her face isn't quite as round, her hair's a different color. Her ears are different from mine."

"You just can't see it since you've always known her, but for me, I'm still trying to reconcile seeing her now and the first time I met her. I still see her as a little twelve year old girl with freckles."

Kim smiled again. "Oh, the freckles are still there, she just covers them up, just like I do when the sun brings out mine. Listen, baby, why don't we get a little shuteye before we have to jump."

"Jump? Oh, come on, KP, I know I sound like a broken record, but can't we just land like normal people for a change?"

"No runways where we're going. But let me put it this way, we'll only be one ridge away from that little town in the Tennessee Appalachians we stopped at last summer. Remember the one with the hot tub?" She slipped a hand around his back and gently kneaded the spot just above his belt. "Maybe we could spend a little extra time here if everything goes okay and do some of the celebrating we originally had planned for tonight."

"Celebrating?"

Kim sat up a little straighter and pulled off her left glove. "Don't tell me you've forgotten what you did this afternoon already? After dinner we were going to load up the car and drive either to Durango or Mount Middleton. I was thinking Durango, cause we could dress up and ride the dinner train. Then we could get our own private little room." She leaned back into his arms and gently kissed the narrow area between his jaw and his turtleneck.

He tilted back his head. It was just dark enough on the plane to forget Joss was sitting all alone about fifteen feet away from them. He could feel her hand slip inside the back of his pants, lightly stroking the small of his back as she leaned into the kiss. Kim scooted a little closer, which to that point he thought was impossible, and moved down his jaw until their lips met.

"Maybe we should have let Joss go home with Slim." He whispered to her, his hands finding the bottom edge of her top and pulling it up just a couple inches so he could put his hands on her bare waist.

"Why's that? You thinking about joining the real Mile-High-Club?" She grinned wickedly before kissing him again.

"I don't know how much fun that would be. It's kinda cold in here."

"Hrk, chilly." Rufus agreed, poking his head out of Ron's cargo pocket.

"Mmmm, Rufus, why don't you be a good little Naked Mole Rat and go keep Joss company." Kim suggested. Thankful for the out, he hastily crossed the hold and curled up on the napping girl's lap.

Kim let her hand sink a little deeper towards his backside. "Now what were you saying about chilly?"

"KP, are you serious? In here? I know it's nice and dark, but…" She cut him off by kissing him again, throwing one leg over his and wrapping her arms even tighter around him, though that meant surrendering her grip on his butt.

"No, I'm not going to do that here, but I do like making out with my fiancé, at least when I get the chance."

"And if Joss wasn't here?"

"Then I think we'd be making this hold a lot warmer than it already is. Can I help it if you drive me wild?" She pressed her body tightly against his and he could feel her moving against him.

His own hands drifted down until they were resting on the curve of her hips. "You know, I was thinking about something, KP. We've always talked about our first time being some perfect, romantic setting, like that hotel you were talking about, or maybe our own place when we get married, but is that really us?"

"Honestly, baby? No. And I don't think we're going to make it almost four years either. I mean, we've really only left that last, little bit and the way you make me feel sometimes…" She sat up and slid off to the side. "You're right, it's easy to forget she's right over there, but yeah, I really kinda think this is just as romantic for the two of us as anything. Remember some of those times when we sort of made up our minds we were done waiting? A boardwalk park bench in Florida, the back of a dark bus on the way back to Wannaweep? Yet we're in a private room or a cabin and all we can think of is keeping out promise to wait."

"Wow, I never realized that. Is there something wrong with us?"

Kim shook her head almost violently. "No. There will come a day when we'll be together, I mean completely together in those situations. It's just when we're here, like we are right now, outside of the bounds of 'normal life' we're our complete selves. I think this is the sitch where we connect the most deeply and maybe that's why I get to feeling so…romantic. Then there was the other day at your Gram's. I was so close to asking you to…you know."

"Yeah. I was real close to asking you too, but I felt a little funny about it considering all the bad feelings that were flying around earlier that evening. If it'd just been the two of us visiting Gram…"

Kim slid back onto his lap, letting him wrap his arms almost double around her stomach. "I love you so much, Ronnie."

"KP, there aren't words to tell you how much I love you."

Kim's smile broadened. Where she was at that moment nothing in the world could harm her. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her lover's body pressed against her back, on his surprisingly strong thin arms wrapped tightly around her. She imagined what making love would feel like. She still had many dreams about the two of them together. Sometimes they would be like they were just then, sometimes the dreams were…hotter. She would wake up in the morning and somehow she knew that sometimes they both dreamed the same thing. The logical part of her mind kept insisting that was some sort of residual effect of Drakken's mind-swapping machine, but she felt it ran much deeper than that.

It was very strange how the two of them reacted to certain sitches. How many times had they spent the night sleeping in her bed, only to hold each other in their arms and sleep the night away. Of course, part of that was 'behaving' for her parents, but on a deeper level they were doing what was right and natural there. Even though she had lived in that room her whole life, it was 'her' place. The same thing happened on the rarer occasions she slept in Ron's bed, though they did give each other their 'intense' backrubs in there from time to time. It was like those places weren't totally 'theirs.'

Maybe that was why she felt that way when they were on a mission. That sitch belonged to them. It wasn't her parents, it wasn't his. It didn't belong to either one of them alone. With very few exceptions, it was always Ron with her. She almost chuckled at the thought that maybe one day they really would have their first time on a mission. It wasn't what she had once envisioned, but as time wore on, it seemed more and more appealing to her.

Maybe Ron was right. Maybe they should have let Joss go home to Montana. Then again, maybe the sitch would have played out differently and they wouldn't even be having their 'romantic' moment. She could think that way, but outside of their embrace, she wouldn't have it any other way. There was an intense feeling of pride that first her brothers and now her cousin were becoming part of the team. One day, perhaps sooner than she thought, she would have to step aside. It could be school demanding too much of her time, it could be a real career or, most likely, it would be when they were ready to start a family. As strong and independent woman as she was, Kim would never endanger her child by going into the field like this expecting.

That made her think again of Sherry. Newfound respect aside, there was still a lot of bad blood between them, and it was likely there always would be. That didn't stop her from thinking about the unborn child, though. Sherry was trying to do the right thing, even finding a way to get proper medical care, of sorts. It wasn't fair to her or to her child that she was now taken away like this. True, this was the rewards for the life she had chosen for herself, but that didn't make it right. She knew by then that she was carrying a little girl and knowing Sherry, she would defend that child with her life if need be.

What Wade had found made her angry. He was probably one of only a few people on Earth that could have followed the trail he found, starting at her mother's laptop. Somebody had gone to great lengths, creating a multi-layered pathway. On the surface, it did look like a pro. Then, as the layers were stripped away like the skin of an onion, it started falling apart, like some half-baked hacker was doing the job.

That didn't fool the younger teen, however. That layer was as fake as the first. He was as shocked as the rest of them when he discovered where the files had been sent to.

They were on the Global Justice mainframe.

That alone was both upsetting and confusing. It meant GJ knew quite well where Sherry was and very likely that Drakken was with her. It also meant that they knew her mother was party to that secret as well. What was confusing was that the organization had not moved on the pair, or on Doctor Possible for aiding and abetting. For some odd reason they seemed content to just sit back and observe.

That meant something else was going on, something bigger.

Before Kim could dial up Doctor Director on her Kimmunicator, Wade found something else. Something even more upsetting. The mainframe wasn't the final destination for that packet of information. What was doubly upsetting was that it was not hacked from outside, it was sent on by somebody within.

That confused the issue somewhat. Perhaps it was possible the information had never been put into Doctor Director's hands. What most at the moment, however, was where it went.

Actually, it seemed to go almost everywhere.

That was where Wade's unique skill came into play. He had seen the scatter technique before. It took him a while, but he was finally able to trace the real path, through a chain of servers linked all over the world. The trail had been hidden by a master, but there was always somebody better. Wade had yet to find his, but there was always the possibility.

The packet was finally delivered to a mainframe located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Just inside Tennessee on the North Carolina border. The park was large, with only one major road crossing it about the middle. That left large tracts of heavily wooded, rugged terrain. That was why they were parachuting into their target. The closest airport large enough for their plane to land was Knoxville, over fifty miles away.

She hoped that was where they would find Sherry. If not, she hoped they would find the next clue to her whereabouts. What frightened her the most was the familiarity with the sitch. The scattershot obfuscation, the rugged locale. There was only one known major player out there at the moment that used both.

The World Wide Evil Empire.

Wade did a quick check for her. Carrion was still in custody, this time under special surveillance. He wasn't going to sneak out of his prison unnoticed a second time. That still bothered her to no end, but at least the authorities finally realized just how dangerous he really was.

Kim sat up slightly. When the dust had settled the last time she went up against WWEE, it became clear the organization was actually using Carrion. While she battled him, they were busy breaking Gemini out. Was that the reason GJ had been so quiet on the mission front? Did they blame her for that failure?

Ron had dozed off again, so she settled back down into his arms. It was still a very comfortable place for her, but a lot of her good mood evaporated. She still had no idea where Sherry fit into all of that since WWEE and Drakken had always acted separately.

Hopefully all would be clear soon enough. She closed her eyes and willed herself to relax. Fortunately for her, the dreams that come with the sleep were pleasant…and included Ron.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	29. Part XXIX – In the Ointment

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXIX – In the Ointment**

* * *

Sherry stood at the edge of the platform, watching her 'minions' going about their jobs below her. They all certainly looked busy, but she had been around hired goons enough to know there really wasn't that much going on. Her back twinged slightly and she wished she could rub it, or at least go back to the more sumptuous quarters Gemini had given her and take another long, hot shower. However, she was 'on duty' and doing either could be interpreted as a sign of weakness. If there was one thing she knew, it was to never let them see you sweat, even if your lower spine and feet were killing you and all you wanted to do was curl up on the couch and eat a whole box of frozen Chimiritos.

Her new employer looked genuinely surprised when she agreed to his proposal. Good pay, good bennies and a month off after giving birth were pretty good perks she told him after he made his pitch. It would also let her reach her full potential, something that would never happen with Doctor Drakken, even on his best days, which these certainly were not.

The outfit wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, especially with her great mane of raven black hair stuffed down the back in order to wear the hood. There was also the fact the magenta outfit with its broad white stripe was about as fashionable as parachute pants and mullets. At least the style she chose to wear for the time being helped hide her growing middle. The sweats she had been wearing were comfortable, but only in the confines of her own home.

She caught herself putting her hand on the small of her back. She could lift several times what a woman of her build normally could, so why was the relatively small extra weight she was carrying making her feel that way? It would feel so good to have drew give her a back rub right about now. He might not have been much for taking over the world, but his small hands were actually good at something.

The thought made her frown. Was she actually missing Drakken? Just because he had shown a talent for working the kinks out of her muscles? Gah! Or was it the simple fact that all she had to do was ask and he would oblige. It wasn't so long ago he would have simply freaked out if she asked him to do that sort of thing.

A low growl announced the presence of Gemini and his tiny little monster, Pepe. In the first five minutes knowing the man she absolutely loathed the creature. At least Drakken's dog, Commodore Puddles, had warmed up to her after a time, though he ended up going to live with his mother after getting pasted by Furball. When it came down to her pet versus his, she won. She always won.

There was a little pang in her heart when she realized Furball had been left behind with Drew. That cat hated him and he only tolerated it because of her. Somehow or another she was going to have to go back and retrieve her. That might not even be possible or even safe, and she didn't want to consider 'catnapping' her own pet.

Another thought crossed her mind as she thought about her former employer (friend?)

"Hey, Patch, you know we need to be ready, don't you?"

"What on Earth for, and would you please call me by my proper name?"

She fought down the urge to call him by just that. Oh yeah, I know who you really are, Sheldon Director. "Whatever. It's only going to be so long before Global Justice or Kim Possible, most likely the latter, are going to come knocking on your door."

"I do not think so. This installation is perfectly well hidden."

"Won't matter. Besides, the Princess has that computer nerd of hers. I bet she's already on her way here."

"I seriously doubt that. She has been expressly forbidden from interfering with WWEE by the operational commander herself. Besides, if Global Justice…"

He was interrupted as that foul little rat disguised as an actual canine suddenly started yapping in his arms. "I'm sorry, Daddy won't say those horrid words again." He stroked it's shivering head a couple times, causing her to quiver slightly as well.

And she thought Stoppable's pet rat thing was disgusting.

"As I was saying, if they were to make any move against us, we would know long before they even arrived. Observe." He touched a control and a large monitor rose out of his console. She stepped around behind him to watch. A map of North America was displayed, with a series of tiny dots, some of them moving around. Most of them were concentrated in Colorado.

"These are our enemy's aircraft. We can track every single one of them constantly. So far none of them have made any move toward us at all."

She was slightly perplexed. Not long after GJ learned Drakken was tracking them himself, they instituted special electronic countermeasures to obscure them from most forms of radar and other means of detection. "So, how are you managing that, chief?"

"Each one of their aircraft has an encrypted transponder. What they do no know is that we have defeated the encryption, revealing them as plain as day. So, we have your old friend out of the picture where we are concerned and our old friends are completely unaware of our presence."

"Yeah, cool beans, but you're forgetting one thing." She crossed her arms, instantly regretting doing so as it put pressure on her abdomen.

"Oh, and what is that?"

"Well, when you grabbed me, for all intents and purposes, you made it look like I was kidnapped."

"Yes, of course. We did not want to leave any kind of trail that would lead the authorities to us. Besides, I would think Drew Lipsky would put his own hide first in this matter. He is not going to be going to the police to report you missing."

"Yeah, but what if he went to someone else? Somebody who he knows can get the job done, even if her despises them?"

"What are you saying?"

Sherry rolled her eyes upward. "What I'm saying is, Drakken is just dumb enough that he might call Kim Possible for help."

Gemini laughed, setting Pepe off yapping again. Once he had the creature calmed he spoke again. "Why would he do a thing like that. After all, Miss Possible and her lack-wit sidekick are now the lap-dogs of…" He clamped his hands over the dog's ears. "…Global Justice. If he were to call them, he might as well turn himself in. As I said, he will value his own hide above yours."

She pursed her lips, considering. That may have been true in the past, but Drakken had changed over the last few months. The man who took her in after escaping prison wasn't the same one who once left her in their enemy's hands while he fled with the XFB-2452 Valkyrie. She had gone from his own sidekick and henchwoman to an important figure in his life. There was no way of knowing why that had happened, but she suspected his odd role as self-appointed protector was going to override his usual desire for self-preservation.

She noticed something on the screen. It wasn't one of the white dots indicating a Global Justice hoverjet, but a smaller, blue dot. It held her attention as it seemed to be coming right at them. "Okay, Patch, what's that?" She pointed directly at it.

He tapped a few keys on his control panel. "Nothing. It is simply a commercial cargo flight destined for a city in North Carolina. There is no cause for alarm. The computers have already passed that particular flight over as they are following the flight plan they filed with the FAA."

Sherry started to say something, then thought the better of it. "Uh, listen, I've got to go…powder my nose. You know, being in this condition kinda presses on the old bladder."

Gemini looked irritated, but she glared right back at him. Hey, he was the one who just recruited a pregnant woman! He made a dismissive gesture with his free hand and he hastily made her way down the stairway to the main floor. Without looking back, she headed down the corridor that would lead to her quarters.

The bathrooms, however, were not her destination. Her gut was talking to her again, and it wasn't Amethyst kicking either. How many times had WWEE dealt with Kimmie? Their whole operation seemed to be built around protecting themselves from Global Justice, as if the two rival organizations were part of a sixties spy sitcom. What about local law enforcement? What about the FBI?

At first she had agreed to Gemini's proposal because of something he said. He had information that, to her knowledge, was only supposed to be in the hands of two people, one of them being Drakken. Most of what the chubby, one-eyed, one-handed leader knew about her was indeed available from most law enforcement agencies around the world, but only a handful of people knew she was pregnant and of those, the only other one who was supposed to know she was having a girl was the princess' mother.

When Gemini mentioned that fact, she almost went into a rage thinking the elder Possible had somehow betrayed her, but logic quickly took over. If that were the case, then it would have been the aforementioned Global Justice or the FBI knocking at her door, not an international criminal organization. That meant they must have learned about it through some other means.

Seeing it as an opportunity to bide her time, she agreed to become his 'Agent Alpha.' She was certain she was going to be watched closely for some time to come, but she could be patient when the situation called for it. Normally, she would have wiped the floor with that arrogant jackass, but her condition was just a bit too precarious for that.

Then, as one of his other subordinates showed her the ropes, he let something slip. He showed her the console they used to monitor their 'Fly-on-the-wall cams.' Tiny robotic flies could hover around a target, gathering audio/visual data while very little real attention was paid to them. Then it hit her. There always seemed to be one little fly in her house, no matter how much bug spray she used. Sometimes she would swat it and throw away the carcass, only to have another reappear shortly. It didn't take her long to figure out they had her under surveillance for some time.

When she thought they might even have video of her in the shower, she almost heaved up her insides.

She stalked past her quarters, instead entering a maintenance room at the far end of the corridor. Her standard operating procedure of learning all the possible exits from bases such as this was paying off. She knew about the access passage leading up towards the surface.

Fortunately for her, she did not have to climb very much. Since it was built into the rugged terrain of the Smoky Mountains, the shaft did not have to go directly up. Even with her enhanced strength, she knew that climbing very far would tax her system too greatly. She smiled wryly, thinking once more how she would have already been on her way home if she was her usual self.

Home? Yes, that's what she was thinking of it as. She probably couldn't go back there now, but one way or another she wanted to return to a situation like that. She talked a good game with Gemini, but this was the very thing she was trying to put behind her. She wasn't Shego any more. She wasn't Agent Alpha. She wasn't even Sheila Ogehs or any one of the false names she had used in the past. She simply wanted to be Sherry Godfrey and she wanted Amethyst to know her as that as she grew up. She wasn't running away from phantoms, both imagined and real, any more. There was too much at stake now.

Strangely enough, she was really wanting that backrub from Drew.

At the end of the darkened passage, she found a heavy door. A simple padlock protected it, but that was simple enough to defeat. She had already purloined enough of the proper tools and she made short work of the lock.

Once outside in the bright, cold morning light of the Eastern mountains, she tried getting her bearings. She recalled the layout of the base and figured she was looking in the right direction. Sure enough, she could see a jet high overhead. If it had been just a commercial flight, as Gemini said, it would have been at a much greater altitude. It was still a couple hundred miles from its eventual destination and was a long way from making its final approach.

That meant she was right. Drakken had called for help, in perhaps the one quarter where he would actually get it. If she got out of this, she was going to hug that man. The thought of her hugging Doctor Drakken in gratitude almost made her laugh out loud.

It wasn't long before her extremely sharp eyes began picking out movement. First one, then two and finally a surprising third chute opened up. She watched for a moment, thinking there might be a fourth to open. Sometimes the two young brothers she met several years earlier in Drakken's Peruvian hideout worked with the princess, but this time it seemed there was only one other person with them.

Sherry scratched where the power-dampening collar had been on her neck. Once upon a time, she would have considered firing up her glow power and picking the three figures slowly descending on her position off one by one. They thought they had the element of surprise and it was only her experience that let her recognize what was actually going on the moment she saw that bogie on Gemini's screen. No, this time she was actually glad to see them.

Turning, she ducked back inside the door, quickly heading back toward the center of the base. For a moment she realized her expanding innards really were pushing on her bladder, but she put that out of her mind. All hell was about to break loose here and she wanted a ring-side seat.

This was going to be fun!

* * *

a/n – I recently was invited to participate in GWA's **The Darkness Within** – a rollicking Kim Possible adventure featuring just about every major villain you can think of! My part, Chapter 8 went up the other day. There is some major talent at work on this story, so check it out.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	30. Part XXX – Rocky Top

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXX – Rocky Top**

* * *

This obviously wasn't the best tactical situation, Kim thought as they rode the air currents to the craggy terrain below. While in the air they stuck out like sore thumbs and were literally sitting ducks. At least the jet engines drowned out Ron's initial screaming. No matter how many times he had jumped out of airplanes, the momentary terror and the feeling of his stomach dropping away was simply too much for him.

The jets did nothing to drown out Joss' screams. That girl had a pair of lungs on her.

The hour couldn't be helped. By the time the slow moving plane made the trip from Colorado to the East Tennessee mountains the sun was fully up. Nerves or no, Ron knew the drill when it came to jumping, but for Joss, this was a new thing. She talked a good game while Kim suited her up, but the look in her aquamarine eyes told the experienced jumper she had serious reservations. There was always the danger she would freeze up, so she would stay close and deploy her chute for her if that happened. Glumly, Kim thought it might have been better to bring a tandem rig like she used to jump with her brothers over Peru.

The rear cargo door of the plane was wide enough they were able to jump together, which made the other two a little more comfortable. If the ramp were narrow, she probably would have sent Ron of first, then Joss so she could keep an eye on what both were doing. Ron would probably pull his cord as soon as possible. Riding the parasail wasn't so bad for him, but the freefalling terrified him too much. Ron could be brave, but HALO, or High Altitude, Low Opening jumping was never going to be his thing (though Kim wanted to try that herself.)

Besides the screaming, Joss was handling herself pretty well. She got into position quickly and didn't tumble. That was perhaps he biggest danger facing the first-timer. Yet she spread her body out and caught the air like a pro, even maneuvering her body so she could see the other two. Still, as soon as her body was stable, she had a death-grip on her rip cord.

Then again, so did Ron. They needed to drop as far as they could before pulling the chutes, but that would not be long considering the craggy terrain. Kim was a bit surprised at the nature of the mountains around them. They looked much more like the rugged western mountains she was used to than the lower, rolling hills she expected in the Appalachians. Unlike with flat terrain, the ground seemed to be rushing up at them much faster. Even before Ron could start whining about it being 'go time' she pulled her own cord, bringing her descent to a much more manageable speed. The other two followed suit almost instantly.

There was another big problem with this kind of insertion. There was no really good landing zone. There were a few rocky outcroppings, but for the most part the terrain was nothing but tall, spiky pine trees, giving the mountain tops a fuzzy appearance from above. The best they could hope for was to steer toward an opening in the treeline and pray it wasn't fully of jagged rocks. If it hadn't been for their only having two of them at the moment, they would have used glider packs instead of the chutes. That way they could slow down and even hover while they looked for a safe place to put down.

There wasn't anything to do about it by then. The moment they stepped off that ramp they were committed. Oh well, she had gotten Ron out of trees before after a jump. There was even one time when he got tangled on the flag pole outside of Middleton High School.

Then she spotted it. There was a nice, wide gap in the trees, with a flat, grassy meadow visible. Since they waited a heartbeat longer to pull their chutes, Ron and Joss were slightly below her, but they apparently saw it too. They were steering right for it. Kim smiled broadly as she watched first Ron set down, then Joss, both of them landing like pros. That smile disappeared when a great, unseen hand seemed to grab Kim's harness and pull her backwards. She had the sudden felling like she was no longer held by nylon lines but a large bungee cord. The ground that had been rushing up toward her was yanked away. Looking up, she could see that her chute was snagged on the top of a pine tree, suspending her some thirty feet above the ground.

How did that happen? That tree wasn't there a moment ago, was it? How on Earth could Ron and even Joss, who had never jumped out of an airplane before, land so perfectly when the most experienced of all three of them ended up caught in a tree?

It was, in a word, embarrassing.

She found a footing on the tiny branches, keeping as close to the trunk as possible. She didn't weigh all that much, but pines were notoriously brittle, especially that close to the top. The trees were nowhere near as big as the ones she was used to at home, but she was still high enough she could be seriously hurt if one suddenly snapped off. Once she was confident of her foothold, she hit the harness release. Maybe later there would be a chance to come retrieve the chute, but that was secondary at the moment.

Using the limbs as if they were a sort of ladder she made her way to the ground. Ron was smiling softly at her, knowing good and well that wasn't the time to make fun of her error. Maybe he was saving it for later, when they could hash it out over a tickle fight. Joss was just grinning from ear to ear.

"Now that was excitin'. We're gonna have ta do that again!"

"Not now. Time to get all our heads in the game." She touched the call button on her wrist Kimmunicator. "Got anything yet, Wade?"

"Satellites are reading strong thermal outputs just about a half-mile north of your position. That should be either their power plant or their ventilation system. In either case, that should give you an in."

"Got it. YRW." She shut off the connection and called up the compass function, getting her bearing. It was almost straight up the rugged slope from their position."

"YRW?" Joss whispered to Ron as they started their climb.

"_You Rock Wade_." He explained. "Kim's best girlfriend, Monique, has this habit of speaking in acronyms, and it's sorta rubbed off on Kim."

"OIC." She whispered back, grinning.

"Shhhhh. Being sneaky here." Kim growled softly. "The last time we infiltrated these guys they had armed patrols." That fact alone was still bugging her. That meant WWEE was taking things up a level if they were defending themselves with lethal force. That made what they were doing all the more dangerous. It also made taking them down that much more important. If they were playing for keeps, then perhaps their plans were being kicked up a notch as well. The super villain's world was becoming much more dangerous, considering the threats other bad guys, like terrorists and rogue nations brought to the table. Those were the sorts of baddies Kim was more than willing to leave to the professionals. Unfortunately, the line between the freaks she dealt with and those bastards was getting fuzzier by the day.

As they worked their way up the hill, Kim noticed something interesting. Rufus wasn't riding in Ron's pocket as he usually did. Instead, he was on Joss' shoulder, standing fully alert. She wondered if he had been with her since the night before when they had been making out on the airplane. Was he just comfortable with her or was he a little put out? Certainly it was the former, since he almost always made himself scarce when things grew intimate between Ron and her. Still, she was going to have to find out if his feelings were hurt somehow. The thought that their relationship could come between Ron and Rufus was somewhat painful.

That got shoved to the back of her mind. She said it herself, they had to have their heads in the game. _Time and place_ she reminded herself.

"How did ya'll sneak in b'fore?" Joss whispered, dropping back beside her cousin.

"We found the intakes for their ventilation system. That's probably how we're going to have to approach this time."

"What if they've gotten wise to that? Seems like if I was setting up security, I'd fix it so nobody's gettin' in that way."

"They tried. There were some nasty bladed bars about halfway down the shaft, but that's no big." She patted the pocket on her tool belt that contained one of her mother's laser scalpels.

"See, if I was designing it, I'd figger that you'd even get past that and instead of one big shaft I'd drill several smaller ones. That way there'd be nobody crawlin' through it no how."

"I agree. Just don't pull a 'Ron' and mention that to any bad guys. If they want to keep being stupid, let them."

"I heard that." Ron whispered back with a scowl.

"Spinning Tops of Doom." She whispered back, reminding him of the time he engaged his mouth before his brain, setting Señor Senior Sr. down the road of super-villainy.

"So what if Joss is right? One of these days one of the smarter bunches are going to figure that trick out."

"So not the drama." Kim put her hand on Ron's shoulder and pointed.

Just above them was an open door. It would have been hard to see even if they climbed right over it if closed. The exterior of the metal hatch was disguised as rock and ground cover. Yet, some fool had obviously left it open. Kim was actually surprised there were no cigarette butts lying about, considering even the bad guys had the sense to order their lairs to be smoke-free. Interestingly, the only thing sitting on the ground outside the door was a rather plain, though heavy duty padlock, the type that used to be advertised by somebody shooting it with a magnum revolver.

"I don't like this." Joss whispered. "It feels, I dunno, sorta trappish."

"And you said that wasn't a word." Ron added.

"It isn't, now hush." She tentatively stepped into the opening. Ron touched her shoulder and pressed his tactical light into her hand. She shined it down the corridor. Apparently the installation had been there for some time, as there was a thick layer of dust on the floor, a layer that had recently been disturbed. Kim put her booted foot next to one of the footprints.

"Somebody else wears a size seven." Ron commented, comparing the print to his lover's foot.

"They lead up to the door and back in. Strange. As if we were meant to find them. I'm starting to agree with Joss more and more about this feeling Trappish." She turned and locked eyes with Ron. "Not a word."

"Hey, I wasn't saying anything."

* * *

Sherry casually made her way toward the internal monitors. There were three ways Kimmie and company could make their approach. One was their usual route of using the HVAC vents. That way, she knew, would be frustrated. Instead of a single, human-sized shaft, the ventilation was made up of a number of wide but shallow shafts only large enough for a squirrel to use. Maybe that rat thing could get in that way, but that wouldn't do them that much good.

Then there was the power plant. Access shafts had to be dug, so it was obvious they could get in that way if they had some means of detecting the small reactor. Still, it wasn't the best way in, especially since she had literally paved the way for them earlier.

She waited until the operator of the console she was 'lounging' at wandered off, probably taking a break. Gemini was up there on his platform berating one of his subordinates. The old 'Shego' would have liked to have been around to watch, especially if the poor sap managed to tick the boss off enough to be offered 'a seat.'

She called up views of the HVAC system. Nothing. Not so much as a rat had gotten through the screens. Somebody with a real brain had actually set that part of the base up. If this particular installation survived the day, she was going to have to remember it. The place would make a great hideout if she ever had to go on the run again. She hated thinking that way, but it was practical.

The power plant was unrevealing as well. It was totally automatic, but sensors had been embedded all around it just in case some old moon shiner found his way up there. Sherry really had no idea if there ever were such people in these parts any more, it was just the first image that came to her mind.

The third view brought a smile to her formerly black limned lips. If she was setting up a trap for the princess, she would have fallen right into it. Well, at least it was time to set things into motion. She shut off the monitor and slowly got to her feet, making certain everyone around her noticed how painful it seemed to her lower back. The uniform didn't show off her pregnant belly so much, but she leaned back to give it the greatest effect.

Muttering to herself loudly, she mounted the steps up to Gemini's platform. "Hey, Patch, you ever considered getting an office on the ground level? These steps are killing me."

"I must apologize, dear Alpha. This installation was not built with expectant mothers in mind."

"Maybe I need to report you for violating the ADA." She leaned heavily on his console, grinning slightly at him. He seemed to get the sarcastic part, chuckling lightly at her sense of humor.

"You know that plane that flew over a little while ago?"

"What of it? It is well on its way to Charlotte by now." He glanced at her sideways, frowning.

"Did you happen to check its altitude when it flew over?"

"What?"

"Check camera seventeen, in the officer's quarters."

He pulled up the proper screen, yet it remained filled with static. He checked a couple more readouts. "The camera is off line."

"Yeah, chief. As in it's been disabled. I checked the flight path for that plane. It was way too low for a regular flight. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Gemini growled audibly, grabbing his microphone. "All agents, be on alert. Possible intruders!"

"Truer words were never spoken." Came a familiar voice from below.

Both of them looked up as the trio of adventurers fanned out across the floor. Ron bolted to one side, plowing into a group of advancing agents. Sherry leaned against the console, just watching as the boy went to work. It seemed like every time she had been in a tussle with them before, she had to keep all of her attention on Kimmie. She hadn't taken the time to see what "the buffoon" was really capable of. Kim told her they had been doing much more serious training together, though at the time she simply took that as them having yet another excuse for having their hands all over each other.

Being a trained scrapper herself, she was able to judge his abilities much more professionally than others. His fighting style was…odd. One goon would advance on him and instead of taking him on directly, he back flipped, catching the guy on the chin pretty hard with his boot. Ron landed on all fours and sprung up again, ready for the next guy. This time he sidestepped the attack in a fluid motion, jumping on the guy's back and springing into the air to land a punch on the third. Stoppable was way, way more dangerous in a tussle than she ever gave him credit for being.

She caught herself noticing just how much he had grown up as well. She didn't spend a lot of time around him the last time they all met, spending most of it actually crying on Kim's shoulder.

Had she really done that? Did losing Neil affect her that much?

Sherry turned her attention to the other person with them. If Drakken had been around, she would have accused him of attempting to clone Kimmie again. The girl was dressed in that ugly old fleece outfit of her one-time nemesis and, for all intents and purposes, she looked just like her twin, though her hair seemed a touch darker, even if it was hard to tell in this light.

The girl obviously knew how to fight, though she didn't have the fluid grace of Kimmie or the strange, monkey-like stance of Stoppable. She relied much more on her fists and her speed to carry her through. She fought with her upper body, using her legs to dance around the assorted goons attacking her while she landed blow after blow on chins and eyes.

It suddenly dawned on her who she was. She was that little cowgirl cousin of Kimmie's she had seen that summer in Montana. Seeing her 'all grown up' suddenly made her feel a little old. She had mostly forgotten her, but remembered thinking she looked like the princess must have looked when she was eleven or twelve. Now she looked the same as Kimmie did when they first met at Drakken's Caribbean lair.

Kim was using the melee itself as a distraction. She was advancing right up the middle, moving to take on Gemini himself.

Time to make herself scarce.

* * *

Kim was generally pleased. They had almost complete surprise on their side. The open door in the side of the mountain turned out not to be a trap after all. She did wonder how Gemini finally realized the installation had bee breached, but by that time they were already at the main control center. It was patterned after the other three WWEE installations she had seen, with the banks of large screens manned by uniformed agents and a central platform.

As Ron and Joss took on the bulk of the surprised agents, Gemini rose up from his control platform and raised his metallic hand in front of him.

"We meet again, Kim Possible. Mind if I give you a hand?"

"News flash, Gemini. That was old the first time you used it." She sprung upward, just as the first of his fingertip missiles exploded on the staircase right where she had been moments before.

"Then let me try something a little fresher." He pointed his index finger at her. A laser beam lanced out, slicing through braces, causing the staircase itself to buckle and sway slightly.

Kim lost her footing, but was ready for something like that. In one fluid motion she drew her grappler gun and fired, sending the hook up into the framework. The cable pulled taught and she sailed up into the air, arcing up over the villain.

Down on the floor, Rufus was scrambling about, ducking under consoles and ripping out any cables he could get his claws onto. Sparks started flying as some of the electrical cables touched each other. In moments, he was surrounded by thick, ozone filled white smoke, causing his tiny eyes to burn.

He didn't let that bother him. His job was to make as big a mess underfoot as he could, so he raced across the open floor, looking for more equipment to sabotage. It was perhaps because of that, though, and the fact there was just too much hubbub in the melee around him that he didn't hear of see the attack until it was almost too late.

Something roughly his size barreled straight into him in a flurry of short fur and teeth. Instantly he recognized the yapping, growling sound. Rufus had very little fear of dogs and cats, or any other animal that would normally consider him or his other rodent kin a meal. The last cat that he went up against ended up almost mummified in duct tape, and it was perhaps the most cunning, most intelligent feline he had ever gone up against.

Chihuahuas were generally very skittish dogs. It went along with their relative sized. That was, until their masters were threatened. Then they forgot they were the size of large rats. Their one instinct was to protect the alpha member of their pack, and for him, Gemini was that person.

Pepe may not have been as intelligent as Rufus, but he remembered the little pink monstrosity from their last encounter. If his little muzzle was capable of it, he would have worn a sinister smile. He was going to enjoy ripping the little rat-thing limb from limb.

What he did not figure on was a naked mole rat having mystical monkey powers. He charged in to bite once more. He had the element of surprise the first time, but he still didn't get a good grip on the little nearly hairless animal. As he sailed through the air at his opponent, a tiny clawed fist caught him straight in the nose, sending him sprawling. Then Rufus simply leapfrogged over him, landing and kicking backward, catching Pepe in the rump.

Kim closed the distance between her and Gemini, forcing the large man to use up all his missiles in a vain attempt to stop her. He even tried the laser, but at close range he couldn't seem to bring it to bear on her long enough to generate a beam. In desperation he reached for a pistol strapped to his waist.

He didn't even get a chance to raise it before it was kicked out of his hands, clattering to the floor far below them. An instant later, a hundred five pounds of former cheerleader was bearing him to the floor of his platform.

"Give it up, Gemini."

"Oh, I think not. Agent Alpha, finish her."

Kim risked a look up, spying the other figure hiding behind the console just a moment too late. The wicked grin on that hooded face was unmistakable. She gasped loudly.

That was all the distraction Gemini needed. He kicked out, sending Kim sprawling on the platform. Alpha loomed over her as the man tried getting back to his feet. Then she pulled the hood off, letting her black hair spill out down her back.

"Hello, Princess."

Kim scrambled backwards, her eyes wide, not believing what she was seeing.

"This is the moment you have been waiting for, Shego. Do your job, finish her." Gemini screamed.

"This is going to be fun." She said to Kim, who was just getting back to her feet, dropping into a fighting stance.

"What are you waiting for? Finish her!" He shook his spent metal fist at the two women.

Sherry just stopped and leaned back against the main control console. "Oh, I'm sorry, Patch. Didn't you know? I'm on maternity leave. You wanna fight the Punkin here, you gotta do it yourself." She winked so that only Kim could see her.

"What?" He bellowed as a new set of alarms started going off.

"Hey, said I'd be your Alpha, whatever that means. Didn't say I was going to do any fighting for you. I'm not in any condition to do that anyway. I knew somebody would eventually come for me. Maybe it was going to be Drakken himself, though it seems to me he's had one of his occasionally flashes of brilliance." She turned back to Kim. "I seem to remember you once telling me we'd better be getting out of another place."

"Good call." Kim said. She wrapped her arm around Sherry's waist and fired her grappler into the superstructure. They swung out onto the main floor, near the entrance they had used only minutes before.

Ron and Joss were already there waiting for them, and they beat a hasty retreat the way they had just come, as hundreds of Global Justice troops poured into the installation.

* * *

Betty Director was waiting beside the hoverjet as they emerged from the mountain installation. She had a very smug expression on her face.

"Good work, Kim Possible. We've already routed out the mole in our organization, thanks to the help your friend Wade provided. I see you have also apprehended Shego, once again."

Sherry glared at Kim for a moment, then at the older woman confronting them. However, Kim was the first to speak. "I'm sorry, but Shego was nowhere to be found. We were here to rescue my friend, Sherry."

"Miss Possible, what are you playing at? I know for a fact that Sherry Godfrey is Shego."

"Oh, really? I seem to remember Shego having green skin and a power signature that could be read almost anywhere on Earth."

"That is just makeup." She grabbed Sherry's face and started rubbing.

"Got news for you, sister, I haven't put on a scrap of makeup in a couple months." She growled, pulling away from the unwanted touch.

Doctor Director glared at Kim. "You do know, this isn't going to sit well with my superiors. I know what you're trying to do. I order you to turn her over to my custody."

Kim just shook her head. "Sorry, can't do that."

"You are under contract and are subject to my orders."

"Really." It was Kim's turn to smile smugly. "It's funny, I don't recall ever signing any such contract, plus, when you pulled this 'independent' stuff, I seem to recall Ron and I were both seventeen at the time."

"What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is Team Possible are not your independent contractors. We're just plain independent. Tipping you off to this base and helping you find the mole, that was a courtesy. The only reason we're here right now is to help our friend."

"Very well." She turned her glare on Sherry again. "But be warned. If we detect Shego's power signature at any time, for any reason, we will send every available agent to apprehend her. Is that understood."

"Perfectly." Sherry responded for Kim.

With that, Betty climbed back into the hoverjet, just in time to see an escape pod rocketing from the mountaintop. Another craft tried to pursue, but was outstripped as it rose into the upper atmosphere.

Moments later, the four of them were left alone on the mountaintop. Shrugging, Kim started off in the direction she knew would take them towards Gatlinburg.

"Uh, Kimmie, you think that little drama could have waited until they took us home?" Sherry asked. Kim turned around and shot her a look.

She shrugged herself and started after them. At least the exercise would do her some good.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	31. Part XXXI – Best Laid Plans

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXI – Best Laid Plans**

* * *

Ron could remember December being one of his favorite times of the year. Because of his enduring friendship with Kim, he not only got to enjoy Hanukkah with his family, but Christmas with hers as well. Only, this year, the Jewish Festival of Lights would begin on the Fifteenth, instead of on Christmas Day as it had the year before. Unfortunately for him, that stuck the majority of his personal holiday right smack dab on top of Finals Week. He had been doing well, especially considering the times he was forced to miss class due to a random mission, but he had to put any thought of celebration out of his mind while he concentrated on what could make or break his college career. In High School, the teachers had a very strict limit on how much weight they could place on final exams. No such stricture existed at Middleton College. In two of his classes, it made up a whopping fifty percent of his total grade.

One thing he found himself looking forward to was taking Barkin's exam. Despite the initial shock of once again having to put up with the military minded teacher-cum-professor for at least one more semester, he found he truly learned in his classes, and doing well there went a long, long way to earning his respect. Over time he came to realize that, the respect was reflected back toward the man. Ron would have had even more respect if he knew that Steve Barkin considered him one of the greatest accomplishments in his career as an educator.

At least he wasn't on edge like he had been leading up to the final exams of his Junior year in high school. That had been one of the biggest pressure cookers of his life, where he had the dual problem of trying to overcome years of poor study habits and lack of general knowledge and having to place higher than he really thought he possibly could in order to even be promoted to his Senior year.

Along the way he learned a couple tricks. For one, he paid attention to how the teachers thought, how they would ask things and he found over time he could anticipate some of the questions that would be on his exams. Knowing what was expected of him went a long way to knowing what and how to study. He also learned he could do most of it on his own, without constantly asking Kim to help. That didn't mean he wouldn't study with her. On the contrary, they spent as much time studying together as their disparate schedules would allow. Kim seemed happy with her new role as a true study partner instead of mostly being a tutor, though there seemed to be fewer of the 'study hard' opportunities from when his situation was somewhat more dire.

He had a sort of mental checklist, one that served him well back at mid-terms. He knew the material. He knew the teachers. He knew there would be surprises and he knew there would be mistakes. There wasn't any reason to beat himself up over any of it, so he relaxed and let his mind focus on the task at hand. He also knew that, before the final, traditional cram-a-thon, that both of them needed a little break.

The first idea had been to ride up to Mount Middleton for some light snowboarding and some heavy make-out time. In fact they had their reservations and Kim promised to bring that short purple nighty she bought for their prom night with her. Their room was going to have a fire place and they could have as much fun in each other's arms as they wanted to. Exams were more than a week away, major projects were winding down and it was time to treat each other like lovers instead of study partners, at least for a weekend.

Then, Friday afternoon, as they sat on the couch, their hands entwined while they watched Ron's favorite cartoon on the Mouse-Ears channel, Jim and Tim rushed up to the windows, looking outside.

"Snow! Cool!" They weren't quite sure which one said it, or if it was both of them. Instantly the cartoon (which, despite Ron's deep love for the series, they had both seen at least ten times) was clicked off and the local weathercaster put up.

"The storm is expected to dump at least a foot of snow overnight, with more expected throughout the day tomorrow."

They looked at each other for a moment before Kim hit the call button on her wrist Kimmunicator. She had taken to wearing it all the time instead of lugging the handheld around, even though it didn't have all the sensor functions the larger.

"Hey, Kim, What up?"

"Have you taken a look outside your window?"

"Oh, you mean the snow storm? You don't even have to ask. I've already IMed a friend of mine at the national weather service. It's a freak storm, but it's a garden variety freak storm. No weather machines involved. Just hope you and Ron didn't have plans." Wade noted the ferocious tweak in Kim's normally pretty features. "Oops. Sorry."

"Not your fault, Wade. Thanks for checking for me." Kim sunk down into the couch cushions as she shut the link down. Then, before Ron could grab her hand again, she got up and walked out onto the deck, watching the large puffs of frozen crystalline water fall to the ground.

Ron followed her outside, trying to catch some snowflakes on his tongue.

"Baby, you shouldn't eat the first snow. It's poisonous."

"Aw, c'mon, KP. That's an old wive's tale. I'm surprised you'd even say something like that."

She leaned on the deck rail, still looking up at the sky, letting the large flakes catch on her hair. It was only just cold enough for the snow to stick, so their sweaters were plenty for a short stay outside. There was already a hazy coating of snow on the grass, and the black pavement of the street was rapidly changing color itself.

The peacefulness of the snowfall did help her mood, though she was still disappointed. "I was just looking forward to some Ron shine this weekend. Oh well, guess it comes with the territory."

"You weren't making any special plans for this trip, were you?" Ron added a delicious grin. They had been interrupted way too many times when they planned that little something extra when they were in private, away from home, for it to be a coincidence any longer.

Kim scooted up against him as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "No. Just wanted some nice private time before all the family starts rolling into town. Some cuddling, some kissing. Pretending you're a big, warm Cuddlebuddy. Waking up next to you the next morning."

Ron stuck his tongue out again, catching more of the flakes. "You ever think it would be okay with your Dad if we did that here? I mean, he's been pretty cool about the last couple times."

Kim stuck her hand up under his sweater. He had a white turtleneck on underneath it, so her cold fingers didn't give him chills, but it was warmer in there. "Ronnie, I wanted to do a little more than I'm comfortable doing at home. Not enough to trigger our 'interuptus' curse, but, well, stuff I like to be totally private about."

"Badical." He whispered as she gave him a light kiss on the lips. "So, how about my place?"

Kim rolled her eyes upwards. Back before CJ was born, Ron's parents were routinely driving to Denver on Tuesdays, sometimes not coming back until late, sometimes not coming back until the next day. Early in their couple-hood they spent much of those Tuesdays in his house, taking full advantage of the privacy that afforded. Well, as full advantage as their relationship allowed at that time, which really consisted mostly of fairly intimate back rubs and a lot of kissing.

After they became engaged, Ron's mother, who before had been wary of their growing physical relationship, fully embraced it. In fact, the only reason Kim didn't spend more nights in Ron's room was the narrow little bed. It was fine for cuddling and making out, but just a tad too cramped for two people to sleep comfortably.

Then, right after they got back from Arizona, Ron's father switched the beds in Ron's room and the guest room. The full sized bed made things a little cramped, but if Kim wanted to spend the night there, it was suddenly far more comfortable. It didn't take her long to realize, though, there was an ulterior motive.

There was a baby in the house.

Gene and Jean Stoppable weren't exactly spring chickens.

Kim was an accomplished babysitter.

All those facts, rolled into one, gave Ron's parents a chance to get away sometimes. So far, they hadn't taken advantage of the situation, but it was coming. In fact it was coming faster than she expected.

Ron's Kimmunicator started going off in cell-phone mode, playing the first few bars of _The Naked Mole Rap_. "KP, it's for you. It's Mom."

"Hi Jean…uh huh…well, we were, but the roads don't look like they're going to be in any kind of shape…what's that? Sure. I'd be happy to…see you two Sunday then." She hung up and handed the handheld back to Ron.

"Well, I'll give you three guesses where your parents are." Kim said, smiling at her lover.

"Denver?"

"Yep. You know what that means?"

"That the snowstorm is already there and they're stuck until it warms up?"

"That, and the babysitter who's watching CJ doesn't have permission to stay overnight."

Ron looked upwards, as if he was trying to add something together. "That's not good. Where are Mom and Dad gonna find an overnight babysitter in this stuff?"

Kim lowered her head and looked right at him. Slowly it clicked. "Aw, man. I wanted to at least spend one night with you."

She reached over and gently knocked on his scalp with her knuckles. "Hello, they didn't just mean for you to take care of CJ. What do you know about taking care of babies besides changing her diaper?"

"Uh. I know how to put her car seat in correctly."

"Uh huh. Keep going."

"Okay, KP, I'm lost now. So that means I'm not up to taking care of my own sister. Where are we gonna find a babysitter?"

"Oh, I give up." She sat down on the bench, though it was already encrusted with snow, making her backside just a touch damp.

"What?"

"Dummy, she means me. I may be a touch rusty, but I've been taking care of babies since I was thirteen. Jean wants me to go over to your house and relieve Phoebe Katz so she can go home before the roads get too bad."

"Oh, so you're the one who's gonna baby-sit. Um, so, why are you so happy about it?"

Kim raised both eyebrows. "I'm babysitting overnight."

"Uh huh."

"I'm babysitting overnight in your house. The house where you live." She narrowed her eyes at him again.

"Uh huh."

"The house where your father put a larger bed in your room to accommodate both of us? Hello? Did somebody open up a time tunnel and switch you with yourself about two years ago?" She stood up and wrapped both hands around his waist. "Why don't you use that gray matter under that pretty blonde hair. That means we're going to have some private time after all, just with changing a couple diapers and heating up formula for CJ thrown in. We don't have to drive an hour, we don't have to spend any extra money. When we decide to go to sleep, we're in a comfortable place and best of all…you can do that little thing that drives me wild." She finished with a delicious grin.

"What, that thing we did after we left New Mexico?"

"No, silly, I mean you can cook dinner for me…but I am open to suggestions for after we put your sister down for the night."

"Booyah." He whispered, noting a certain brown and white haired gentleman watching them through the window.

* * *

Despite the room being nice and warm, despite having his body pressed up against another one clad in long silk pajamas, and even despite a rather energetic evening of making out before Kim nodded off in his arms, Ron couldn't quite make himself fall asleep. He was too keyed up over something, something he just could not quite put his finger on.

It wasn't his sister. She had been a little angel that night, going to sleep without a peep after her evening feeding. Finally, about midnight they went to bed themselves. They had already spent a great deal of time kissing on the couch after Ron prepared a dinner of fried chicken using Nana Possible's recipe. It wasn't as closely guarded secret as the lemon squares, mainly because it was more of an art than a formula. Kim pronounced his fare very, very good, but it still lacked something subtle. It was the one thing he had yet to completely duplicate. That, and Kim was very, very picky about fried chicken.

As their relationship evolved, Kim had developed a couple habits he would classify as cute. Even though they had seen each other undressed on several occasions by that point, she still went into his attached bathroom to change into her night clothes. Ron found that he didn't really mind that at all. If he asked, she would likely let him watch any time he wanted to, but somehow it added a little mystery back into their relationship, and he found that strangely romantic.

The sight of her sitting on the bed, reading one of her fashion magazines when he came out of the bathroom was perhaps one of the top ten most beautiful things he had ever seen. She picked up the sleepwear the last time they were in the mall. Ron thought, when she dragged him into _Alexandria's Confession_ she was going to pick up something over-the-top sexy like her purple nightgown, so he was just a little disappointed when she picked out the slightly metallic looking golden silk pajamas. Yet the sight of her in them, the way the material clung to her was just as effective, if not more so, as the short teddy.

When Kim finally said goodnight Ron felt like he was just on the edge of dropping into a wonderful, restful sleep like he often had when he was with her. It was just he didn't seem to be able to push himself over that edge. It didn't feel like anything was wrong, it was just he couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't his nerves either. He was calm, relaxed, utterly comfortable, yet sleep wouldn't come.

The moon was high and still about two-thirds full, so the room was bathed in a soft glow. With the baby, his Dad finally relented and raised the thermostat a little bit, making the house much more comfortable even though there was already quite a lot of snow on the ground. Kim stuck one of her legs out of the covers and wrapped her body partially around them, so he contented himself with watching her sleep. The only thing to mar the perfection of her beauty that way was the fact he could not see her green eyes.

It was just about three in the morning. The clock was going to go off in an hour so they could get up and feed CJ, then they could crawl back into bed for a few more hours, since the only thing they would have to do the following day was hang around the house and care for the infant.

Finally, he closed his eyes tightly and pulled himself closer to Kim, putting his forehead against hers. She shifted slightly, easing her leg back under the covers, wrapping herself around him like she had the blanket moments earlier.

"You awake, baby?" She whispered, not opening her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Can't sleep?"

"I'm okay." He answered. "Not like we've got to get up early or anything. Like Phoebe said, Rabbi Katz has already canceled services in the morning."

He felt her lips brush against his. Moments later, they were kissing passionately. Ron's top was still unbuttoned, so all that separated their upper bodies was the cool, thin layer of silk. He could feel her curves pressed against him, making him more and more excited. It was obvious Kim was feeling the same way, especially when she shifted her weight halfway onto him.

She switched to kissing his neck, first placing light little busses just below his earlobes, then kissing him harder. It wasn't hard enough to leave a mark, since they pretty much had outgrown leaving hickeys on each other. Then she rested her head in the middle of his chest.

"Love you so much." She whispered in the snow-enhanced half light of the early morning.

"I love you too, KP." He ran his hand through her hair, leaning down so he could breath the scent of her strawberry shampoo in.

She looked up at his face, her green eyes glittering in the moonlight. "I'm ready." She whispered.

He didn't show anything outwardly, but those words hit him like a lightning bolt. In that moment he realized what had been keeping him awake the last few hours.

Ron had been feeling exactly the same. There was something subtly different than all the other times they had nearly taken that step. The fear was gone. He didn't feel like there was anything wrong with it, that it would plunge them over a cliff of emotions their young hearts just weren't ready to handle. They always told each other when the moment came, they would both know it. He knew then that had been right. They were no longer sneaking behind their parent's backs. They weren't dodging chaperones whose job it was to prevent such things from happening. Plus, in accordance with being two healthy young adults, their bodies were ready and willing as well.

At first his only response was to pull her back up towards him so they could kiss again. Only this time their hands went exploring a bit more. Gingerly he undid the three buttons holding the front of her top closed, leaving them that way as they kissed.

Under the covers, Kim hitched her backside just a bit, and moments later dropped the bottom half of her pajamas on the floor. Ron followed suit, their lips never once parting. He could feel not only his heart racing, but hers as well. He shifted, pushing Kim onto her back.

"Are you sure?" He whispered in mere breath. They couldn't have been more than an inch away from being finally joined in their love.

"Absolutely." She breathed back. She tilted her head backwards as he took his turn kissing her neck.

Ron could feel the sweat breaking out on his forehead. It was really about to happen. No strange monsters were about to smash their way into their room. No villains were about to appear out of the woodwork. The moment was finally there, washing away his earlier desire to save this for their wedding night. Their hearts truly were one and it was time for their bodies to be as well.

"You want to do this?" He asked one more time, trying to convince himself it was really happening.

"Please and thank you." She said, a little louder than the whispers they had been using. She had the most beautiful smile on her face.

Was it getting lighter in the room?

Just as his arms were about to tense up to draw their bodies together, light flooded the room. It wasn't like the overhead lights were coming on. It was more like a car had pulled up to his window, shining its high beams into the room, only the light wasn't coming from there, it was coming from behind him.

"What the…" Kim said out loud, pushing him off of her.

There was a circle of light in the middle of his room. It looked strangely familiar, like he had seen it before, somewhere, though the memory would not come to him. The only thing he could think of was _Oh no! Not again!_

Kim was already reaching for the floor, grabbing her pajama bottoms and struggling into them. Ron could only stand there transfixed as two figures stepped out of the circle of light.

Both their eyes shot open as they recognized the two intruders. One was male, the other female, though both knew what they were seeing was impossible.

For Ron it was like looking into a mirror. The man was…

…him!

"Wow. Definitely my room." The second Ron said.

Kim was scrambling from the bed, hunting for her Kimmunicator. That's when it dawned on the real Ron who the other person was.

"Bonnie?"

There was no mistaking who the two interlopers were, but there were very subtle differences. The two Rons looked almost identical except the new one had an almost world-weary look in his eyes, as well as deep rooted concern. He also couldn't take his eyes off of Kim.

"That's not her." Bonnie pronounced, holding some sort of electronic scanning device. "Looks like we homed in on this world's Kim."

The new Ron let out a deep sigh. "Well, we're just getting started. Do the scan so we can rule this portal out."

"On it." She made a few adjustments to the device.

Kim finally got her hands on her K-bracelet. "Wade?" She half-screamed into the small device.

Immediately a familiar face popped up on the half-sized screen, only there was something different as well.

"Uh, hi." Wade gave her a small wave. "I know you're kind of confused right about now. I'm not 'your' Wade. While the portal is open, the communication signal I'm using is canceling out the signal to him. There's no cause for alarm, we'll be in and out of here in a few moments."

"What's going on?" Ron asked, finally finding his voice.

"Long story short." The new Ron explained, "I'm you, but I'm from a parallel dimension. Can't go into too much detail, but we're looking for somebody. This is only like the third portal we've tried, so I didn't have my hopes up too high. Like our Wade said, we'll be out of here in a jiffy and you two can go back to whatever it was you were doing." His smile was wide and very genuine.

Ron blinked twice, looking at his doppelganger closely. He was dressed in what looked like an older version of his standard mission gear, which mainly meant the plain black top with normal charcoal cargos instead of the newer rip-stop material he now wore. Bonnie, oddly enough, looked like she was wearing one of Kim's new suits, only the top was fuchsia instead of black and the pants black instead of olive. He also noted she looked very slightly heavier than he recalled, as if she was…

"Okay, got a link to the satellite network. Nope, nada." She shook her head. "The only inter-dimensional signal I'm getting on this world is the one we were expecting from the PDVI. She's not here."

The new Ron waved jauntily as he stepped back toward the pool of light. "Have fun, you two." He stepped into it and was gone.

Bonnie lingered a moment. "Listen, I can't go into how I know, but you two might want to reconsider what you're doing right now. If you don't, you might…well, let's just say you might end up like me." She put her hand on her midsection momentarily, looking straight at Kim. Then she stepped into the disc and disappeared as well.

The light seemed to collapse in on itself, leaving the two teens alone in the dark as their eyes readjusted to the moonlight.

"That was a full ten on the weirdo-meter." Ron said, realizing he was still sitting in the bed wearing only the top half of his pajamas.

Kim's eyes were wide open. "I can't believe it."

Ron looked at her. "Considering some of the stuff that's happened to us, I can believe it pretty well. Freaky yes, but…"

"No, I mean us. I can't believe it happened again."

His shoulders sagged. "I take it that was a big mood killer."

"Understatement much. And what did Bonnie mean by like her? Was she…?"

"I, I think she was, though I don't think that was 'our' Bon-Bon any more than that was me. Hey, what did she mean if we went through with it?"

"I think…oh no."

"What, KP?"

"Ron, I haven't taken…two days. I just plain forgot."

He slipped out of the bed, picking up his pajamas and putting them on. "Well, I'm not going back to sleep any time soon."

"Ron?"

He turned to face her as she crossed the bed and wrapped her arms around him.

"Yeah KP?"

"Don't worry, Ronnie. I had a great night up to this point. We'll have our chance, sometime. Guess somebody's really looking out for us."

He hugged her back. "Yeah, just sometime wished they weren't if you know what I mean."

"Yeah I do, baby. Yeah I do."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	32. Part XXXII – What’s Left Behind

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXII – What's Left Behind**

* * *

Even with the snowy start to the Middleton winter, the season was shaping up to be much milder than usual. A warm front rolled in right on its heels, melting the majority of what had fallen by mid-day Saturday. Kim and Ron stayed in bed a couple hours later than normal, having fallen asleep much more quickly than they expected after taking care of Ron's sister. The event of the night before took on a certain surrealness that led them to believe it was one of their mutual dreams rather than something real, especially after Wade confessed he couldn't find any evidence of a multi-dimensional incursion or anybody hacking into the global satellite network.

The one thing they couldn't pass off as a dream was the fact Kim had indeed missed taking her meds two days in a row. Both of them dreaming about coming that close to going all the way was one thing, but there were always small differences in their experiences. Still, they finally wrote it off to being just that, a dream, especially considering the intimacy they shared the evening before.

With the roads clear, Ron's parents were able to get home by lunch time, so they ended up taking their trip up to the ski lodge anyhow, though they kept their romantic escapades reigned in a little more closely. The trip fulfilled its intended purpose, that being a welcome break before the final push of their first semester of college.

Finals week turned out to be one of the biggest confidence boosters of Ron's life. He went in relaxed and prepared and acquitted himself magnificently, pulling down nothing lower than a B. Kim aced the whole shoot-n-match as usual and decided not to rain on Ron's parade at that particular moment by telling him that it was going to get exponentially harder as they progressed. It was time for their break and she was looking forward to it as much as he was.

Kim reflected on the influence they were having on each other's lives. Once she would have been driven to participate in everything she possibly could, basically scheduling every minute of her life to the point that a mission popping up would put her in danger of seriously falling behind. In fact, one time that almost really happened. Ron, on the other hand, was really not into much more than cheer squad, missions and her. Somewhere along the line she started drifting away from all but the most important of her extra-curricular activities. On the surface she thought it looked as if she merely wanted more time to be with Ron, but that in itself wasn't completely true. He demonstrated a willingness to throw himself into everything he possibly could so he could share all of that with her.

In reality, the two of them ended up meeting in the middle. Kim still participated in a healthy number of activities, but found that by being much more selective she was able to devote herself more fully to each one instead of just hitting the high spots on everything.

One aspect of her life she left behind sometimes struck her as odd. During the summer, as they prepared for school, she intended to try out for the Middleton College Cheerleaders. Then, the day tryouts were supposed to start, she started wondering if that was where she wanted to go at that point in her life. It wasn't that she didn't love her time as a cheerleader, but for some strange reason she didn't feel like she had anything to prove there any more. It was just like swim team all over again. After her Sophomore year, she simply let that fall by the wayside. She wasn't the star of the team, but she did play a part in her school placing first in the region. She considered making a stab at the diving team, but didn't have enough interest in it to try out. Again, she didn't feel like she had anything to prove there.

She had a horrible thought about her unwillingness to try out for collegiate cheerleading. For the last three years of high school she was the captain of the team. In college, she would be the low person on the totem pole and, by the way she interpreted the rules, would be for at least three years no matter how much ability she demonstrated. Only an upperclassman was allowed to captain the team. That seemed ferociously unfair to her, but that was the rule.

Could it be that she didn't want to be subordinate to anyone after being the leader for so long?

By the first day of class it no longer mattered. The tryouts had come and gone and the roster was filled. If for some reason she changed her mind, she would have to put her name on a waiting list and enter as an alternate. That meant going to long, difficult practices and then sitting on the sidelines for every performance, forced to hope for some misfortune to befall one of her teammates. That in itself proved to be very unpalatable. In the end, she simply let the matter drop completely, focusing instead on her academic career and her fiancé.

That didn't keep her from feeling nostalgic about the past. Ron was off with Felix, who was back in town for the holidays, creating a rare moment when Kim was actually by herself. Monique wouldn't be back until the next day, as would Hope. Tara had already come back, but instead of catching up with her friends she made a bee-line for Josh's apartment in Upperton. Kim didn't even to begin to feel jealous of the guys spending some time together, since she was certain the moment Monique rolled into town she would be spending every waking moment (as well as some non-waking moments) with her boyfriend, especially since they didn't have the luxury of going to the same school.

With both her parents at work, the twins in their final day of school before the holiday break and Ron of decimating zombies with Felix, Kim couldn't help but feel slightly lonely. She may have been prone to setting herself in leadership roles, putting herself above the crowd whenever possible, but she craved human contact. Left by herself she felt isolated. She liked living in the now, rather than living in her head. That was a trait she realized when a publishing house asked her about writing an autobiography. She had always done well in her English courses and performed admirably well in creative writing, but when it came down to putting her life down in prose everything she attempted came out as a dry recounting of major events in her life. In the end she gave up on the project.

Kim pulled a box out of the bottom of her closet, running her hands over the top of it as if she could feel what was inside just by touching it. She went over and sat down on her bed, sitting it astride her lap. It was a plain white sweater box, the type used to store away clothing one didn't want to get rid of but would not be wearing in the near future. Her Mom had a box like this one in the attic, though that one contained her wedding dress. For just a moment she considered how her mother would look in the dress then. Sure, she had seen all the pictures hundreds of times, with Anne Credible's long red hair done up into a complicated style under an equally detailed veil. Perhaps some day when just the two of them were home she would ask her to model it for her. That would almost certainly lead the elder Possible to ask her daughter to try it on herself. That would be interesting, since Kim was a little shorter than her mother and because of her much more muscular legs, she had wider hips.

Carefully, Kim pulled off the top and set it aside. The contents were wrapped in white tissue paper, but the colors still showed through the thin material. With a delicacy born more of respect than necessity, she folded back the paper, exposing the deep blue clothing trimmed in dark red and gold inside.

With a sort of reverence she laid the parts of her old cheerleading uniform out on the bed. She still had a pair of pom-poms, but they were in another box. Back when she was twelve, the uniforms were new. Middleton Junior High always followed Middleton High's lead when it came to them, so that year they adopted the bare midriff design the older girl's squad had a year earlier. That caused quite a stir among some of the more conservative parents at the time. In fact, she later came to learn there were complaints about the suits all the way up the line.

Kim never really got what the big deal was. She had been wearing the tummy baring tops since she was ten and never heard a single peep out of her parents about it. Sure, Ron had given her plenty of belly raspberries at first, but she didn't see what was so wrong about the world being able to see her navel. It wasn't so different than a two piece bathing suit…in fact it covered more. Everything she had ever been taught about modesty was literally covered by the outfit.

One thing was certain. Ron always seemed to appreciate it. Even when they were just twelve and she was just a skinny little slip of a girl wearing braces and being pestered by her mother to wear a 'training bra' Ron couldn't take his eyes off of her when she had it on. Maybe that was the reason she wore it home, or to Bueno Nacho so often instead of changing back into her street clothes at school. Strange that she would think of that now and not then, especially since, at least in the front of her mind, she really didn't have any romantic thoughts about him at the time.

She glanced at the clock. It was a couple hours before she was supposed to meet the boys at the tex-mex eatery and perhaps thirty minutes to an hour before her mother would get home. There was just a little time to kill, so she quickly slipped out of her jeans and sweater and put the uniform on.

It felt a little strange standing in front of her mirror, looking at herself in the cropped top and short skirt. For some reason, whenever she wore a mini skirt of her own she would wear a longer top tucked in, as if she were trying to balance out the amount of skin showing. She always left it to the likes of Bonnie to parade around in a halter top and a microscopic skirt, pushing the school's minimum dress code standards to the breaking point.

It had only been since spring that she had last worn them, but somehow it felt like years melted off of her as she twirled in the mirror, letting the skirt fly up around her. Just to see if she still had it, she dropped into a split. Her muscles complained just a little since she didn't do any warm-up stretches first, and she mentally berated herself for that. Still, it felt a little bit like coming home. From memory she did a few of the moves, trying to shake the rust off. In moments she was cutting compact flips and doing a few of the dance moves Ron had talked her into incorporating in their routine.

She sat back down on the bed, just a touch out of breath, the lay back. Did she make the right decision leaving all of that behind? It was indeed too late for second guessing, unless she wanted to try out for her sophomore year. Almost sadly she changed back into her street clothes and wrapped the old uniform back up. Maybe some day she would bring it back out, but just for Ron's benefit. A few stray dirty thoughts crossed her mind. Maybe on their honeymoon…

…yes, that would probably drive him wild, but that sort of thing would definitely be saved for their wedding night. They had another one of their long conversations about the subject. Their recent experience told them that they were indeed ready, both physically and emotionally, but in the end, they really did want to save that for their wedding night. At the rate they had been going, it seemed like that was an impossibility, until they decided together if they loved each other enough to go there, they also loved each other enough to wait. With that in mind, there would be no more spur-of-the-moment slips again. They could enjoy each other's company without the stress of worrying where it would lead.

The sound of the garage door opening announced her mother's arrival. She carefully put the box back in its place in her closet and reassembled the stack of boxes that had covered it. There wasn't anything embarrassing about her trip down memory lane, but she wanted to keep it private none-the-less.

"Kimmie!"

"Up here, Mom!" She raced down the steps of her open hatch, catching her mother halfway up the main staircase.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news. Nana called your father while he was at work today. Her hip has been giving her some trouble, so she doesn't think she's going to be able to come for Christmas this year."

Kim was crestfallen. She had always been close with her grandmother, but their relationship had grown even greater when she discovered more about the older woman's past. They had been together every single Christmas of her life.

"So, it's just us this year?"

"I'm afraid so. Since Uncle Slim and Joss came here for Thanksgiving, they're going to see her other Grandma for the holidays. Even Aunt June's family are going away this year since Larry elected to stay in New York where he's going to school."

Kim sat heavily on one of the hall chairs. "Well, at least my friends are back in town."

* * *

"You're going away?" Kim looked at Ron's other best friend with open shock.

Felix nodded sadly. "I know you were looking forward to catching up with Monique, but Mom and her boyfriend invited us to come along on their trip to Bermuda, and believe it or not, Mon's Dad agreed to let her go."

Kim slumped down with her chin on her palm. "Ronnie, please don't tell me your parents have gotten some wild hare to go away too."

He shook his head as he squeezed her shoulder lightly. "Nah. They're pretty much staying put most of the time until CJ is older."

"Look at the bright side, Kim." Felix explained. "We'll all be back around for New Years. We can all get together then."

"Yeah. It's just, with Nana not coming it just doesn't feel right for the holidays."

Ron's eyes lit up. "Hey, what's the weather like down in that part of Florida this time of year?"

"Um, well, I called Nana before I came to meet you guys. She said it was pretty warm down there right now. I figure it's kind of like what we're used to here in late spring."

"Then why don't we go down there for Christmas? I'm sure she's excited about us and we really didn't spend all that much time with her when we were down there that summer."

Kim sat up straight, smiling broadly. "Ronnie, you're a genius! I bet I can even call in a favor and get us into Fantasy World. You've always said you wanted to ride Supersonic Mountain."

He looked momentarily stricken. "Uh, you sure you want me on rides like that?"

She smiled radiantly at him. "It's gonna be a crackers and water regimen for you for sure, but hey, I bet we'll have a blast." She leaned over to him and whispered "Plus that means we can ride all the romantic rides as well."

He smiled warily back at her, knowing he had most likely just created a monster.

Kim put her hands down on the table. "Okay, it's settled. I'm going to call in a favor and get us a ride down there, cause we're spending Christmas at Nana's."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	33. Part XXXIII – Spinning Teacups of Doom

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXIII – Spinning Teacups of Doom**

* * *

Turnabout was supposed to be fair play.

Try telling that to a certain red haired teen hero while she was busy losing her lunch while her fiancé carefully held her hair out of the way.

Normally, for a woman who could sometimes be called an adrenaline junkie, an amusement park, especially one of the premier locations in the world, held a very special attraction. The rides offered her the chance to experience a taste of the thrills she normally faced in her life and, unless you counted waiting in lines, she didn't have to do the heavy lifting to experience them.

So far, there hadn't been a ride invented she couldn't ride. After all, she climbed mountains, jumped out of planes, sometimes even without a parachute. Carefully calculated application of multiple Gs were fun, but certainly didn't scare her. It didn't matter if the ride went around and around or if it were the fastest, roughest roller coaster ever built. None of them affected her in the least. Oh, she screamed, but that was part of the fun. Normally, when she was in a position to experience massive accelerations, she was all business and sometimes had to be sneaky about it. None of that applied when barreling down a hill.

Ron, on the other hand, could pretty much handle the coasters, but if he spent too much time on the 'spinny' rides, he was prone to lose anything that happened to be in his stomach. That wasn't to say he hated those rides. On the contrary, he loved riding them as much or more than Kim. There was something about riding something that teams of engineers had put together to simulate a feeling of danger, all the while knowing it was actually safer than riding his bike down the sidewalk. He would literally ride the things until he chucked.

Fortunately for him, there were plenty of breaks between 'extreme rotating' events. Specifically, it was the waiting in line, giving his stomach plenty of time to settle between rides. In fact, the flight down had done more to turn him green than the dozens of rides at Fantasy World.

They managed to swing tickets on a redeye out of Middleton. It was a smaller jet, so it was basically all coach, but the plane was only a quarter full so they were able to stretch out without cramping any of the other passengers. The plane lifted off in the early hours of December 23rd, so they spent the flight contentedly snoozing. They connected through Atlanta, this time boarding a 'puddle jumper' with only twenty seats. They were glad of the rest they had on the earlier flight, as the plane was full and, as it turned out, Kim and Ron were the smallest passengers on board by far. A quick best of three round of rock/paper/scissors won Kim the window seat, which she immediately gave to Ron, who in turn tried to give it back, but she insisted she won it fair and square and it was up to her to decide who would sit in it.

That in itself wasn't such a bad thing. She ended up sitting beside a fairly large fellow from a city to the north, on his way down to Orlando to visit his brother and his new fiancé. They struck up a conversation about his former job as a bike mechanic and his current profession as a novelist and part time computer handyman. She found that once he got rolling about bikes, it was fascinating, though she had utterly no idea what a Deore XT Equipped cross country rig was, or why he liked Japanese road bike components as opposed to Italian ones, but he spoke with such fervor it never truly got boring. He reminded her a lot of a younger man who had saved her life earlier that year. Of course, when he started in on his writing work her eyes about rolled back in her head.

He wrote science fiction novels. She could sit and watch Sci-Fi movies all day long with Ron, but that was because she enjoyed watching him have a good time doing it. The thought of actually sitting down and reading a book on the subject? She had plenty of that with her last high school English teacher, thank you very much!

Poor Ron didn't fare quite so well. There was a Bueno Nacho Express in the Atlanta Airport, so he got into his usual eating contest with Rufus to see who could actually down their own weight in Breakfast Nacos in the quickest time. They figured they had enough time before they set down in Orlando that he wouldn't have a problem with the rides once they got into the park.

Unfortunately, the heavily laden plane was much more at the mercy of turbulence than the medium size jet they had been on. How he managed to keep those egg, cheese and tortilla laden creations down, Kim had no idea, though by the time they landed he was a shade of green that would have done a powered-up Shego proud.

They were in for another shock that, while it wasn't completely unexpected, hit them quite a bit harder than they figured. When they got on the plane in Colorado, the temperature was well below freezing. They boarded directly from the terminal, but they still needed long clothes and sweaters. Atlanta was warmer, but only by about ten degrees, so they were still relatively comfortable there with their sweaters tied around their shoulders.

When they climbed off the plane in Orlando, it was like stepping into a steam bath. It was in reality a comfortable seventy five degrees, but the humidity still hit them like a ton of bricks. As soon as they had their luggage in hand they made a bee-line for the resort hotel they were spending the night in and quickly changed into shorts, Kim electing to wear a nice sports bra instead of the longer T-shirts they brought. The original plan was for them to dress alike in Ron's signature outfit, just as they had the first day of school, but that was out of the question.

They got into the park by the early afternoon. With only the one day there was utterly no chance of seeing it all, so they decided their best course of action was to hit the high spots, meaning the better rides.

Kim, who had eaten half of an egg and mushroom burrito, was ravenously hungry, though Ron was still not quite done recovering from their flight. The first eatery they spotted as they wandered the outskirts of the sprawling complex was distinctly Tex-mex. In hindsight, they should have passed on that and found something else.

"You have got to be kidding me." Ron said, squinting at the menu board. "A 'Tacho?' Half taco, half nacho?"

"Sounds gross, doesn't it?" Kim remarked, hunting for something that at least sounded palatable.

"No, it sounds like I need to call the head honcho at BN. That's nothing but a rip-off."

Kim looked at him for a moment then realized what he meant. She was so hungry it didn't sink in immediately that was exactly what a Naco was. She laughed gently. "I'm willing to bet they're well aware of it, but don't want to go up against these people's legal department. You remember what they did to that fan-site for that cartoon you watch every day."

"Come on, KP. We'd better find something else. If I even touch any of this stuff there's bound to be a picture on the internet within five minutes. Can you imagine what it would be like for the Naco Boy to be seen eating a Tacho?"

"Give it a rest, Ron. I'm just going to have a chicken Taco, and you're not supposed to be eating anything right now anyway."

He grumbled some more and walked outside, sitting at one of the umbrella covered tables. The line was ferociously long, with dozens of park goers still vying for a bite of lunch, but she decided to be patient. Ron was still in a little bit of a funk when she came out bearing something oozing grease and an extraordinarily small diet pop.

She started wondering if Ron was actually right when she unwrapped what was supposed to be grilled chicken in a flour tortilla. It turned out that he was as she swallowed the first bite. Her drink, which cost as much as a sixty-four ounce grande-sized Slurpster back home, if she bought it along with a Naco platter, turned out to be extremely watery and filled to the top with ice to boot. Still, her hunger overrode her distaste and she finished the small repast as quickly as she could.

"This is so ferociously weird." Kim observed as they strolled through the park holding hands.

"Wuzzat?" Ron licked his chops as they passed a food vendor with sizzling onions and peppers, with huge rings of kielbasas warming nearby.

"Christmas is two days away, this whole place is done up like some kind of winter wonderland, and we're both wearing shorts and about to break out in a sweat from the humidity."

"Count your blessings, Kimbo. The guy at the airport said it was in the high forties here a couple days ago, and it's going to be warmer down in Fort Summerdell. So, what's first? _Spook Mansion_? _Swashbucklers of the Caribbean_? Oh, I know, we could go to the kiddie rides and do the original _Spinning Tops of Doom_. That's where I got the name!"

"I thought you wanted to ride Supersonic Mountain so bad?"

"Well, I was reading the travel guide on the way to the airport. It said the ride was built in the seventies and it's pretty tame. I was thinking more along the lines of_ The Mangler_."

"Oy, is there a major ride here that doesn't sound like one of our enemy's doomsday machines?"

"Well, there's plenty…and I was the one who built the Mangler, not Drakken."

"So not the drama, Ron. Let's find this 'Mangler' before we burn up the whole afternoon."

The lines for the rides proved to be rather impressive, but being a well established park, the operators knew how to keep things moving along. Being used to the smaller portable rides at the sporadically open Middleton Fairgrounds, Fantasy World was actually a pretty refreshing change for the couple. The rides were bigger and the park looked a lot more…complete. After a couple hours Kim's stomach was rumbling again, so she stopped and bought a chili dog (noting they had already spent as much for carnival snack food as they would a nice steak dinner for one back home.)

"I thought for a moment you were going to order that with marshmallows back there." Ron grinned. Kim could tell his mouth was watering, watching her eat the meat sauce enshrouded sausage.

"Nah, I don't want to gross anybody out. Besides, there's no good way to toast the marshmallows anyway, and I'd feel a little freaky going into one of the gift shops to buy a disposable lighter."

"Maybe you could turn down the power on your laser lipstick?"

"Hmm. Didn't think of that." She handed the last inch of the hot dog to Rufus, who took it down in one gulp. Kim pinched his cheek softly. "We'll get you some food at dinner tonight, I'll even let you pick the place."

"Booyah!" He cheered softly. "I know just the place too. All you can eat Seafood Buffet!"

"Spankin. Come on, I saw something cool!"

They rode an older ride that started out spinning in circle on the ground, then rose up into the air. They rode one of the spinning swing rides that Ron used to say would make him chuck. There was a roller coaster where their legs hung down beneath them, another with traditional cars but an incredibly rough and tumble ride. There were spinning barrels, spinning wagon wheels. Spinning this, and spinning that. All the while Kim kept getting hungry, eating nachos with jalapeños on top, a big roasted turkey leg and a big poof of cotton candy, taking full advantage of Ron's proclaimed rule of there being no such thing as a diet in a place like that.

She was so proud of how Ron was handling it, even though he did sneak a couple bites of her nachos, she didn't feel it starting. In fact, all the coasters and spinning rides didn't seem to have any affect on her. It wasn't until they got on the boat for Swashbucklers of the Caribbean that she started getting an inkling of what was to come.

The first thing that hit her was just how unpleasant the water actually smelled. It wasn't bad, bad, but it was just enough to make her wonder how often they changed out the water in the artificial canal the boat traveled through. It also didn't help that the seat was warm and quite wet. She knew the short drop at the end of the ride always got the riders wet, but that was a quick spray of cold water. Sitting in a lukewarm puddle made her think it could be something else.

The boat itself was exactly that. It ran down between some guides, but it still floated in the channel. That meant it would bob ever so slightly. She couldn't quite pinpoint why it was she could ride roller coasters all day long, sit in the spinning rides until the cows came home, but sitting in what really was a pretty stable boat started making her just a little queasy. It was dark enough in there that Ron didn't notice how green she was turning, instead keeping his hand around her waist, even letting it slip just inside the band of her shorts. It was amazing how something she usually enjoyed quite a bit was so distracting when she was trying to keep her extended lunch down.

_This can't be happening to me! This happens to Ron! The last time I hurled was…ew, that time I was drunk!_

She made it through the ride somehow. The fact she really had missed the whole thing by concentrating on her predicament did take her mind of it momentarily. Once they were clear of the ride and the slightly musty water smell, she improved rapidly. A few minutes later she put her hand on Ron's waist, putting her pinky inside the band.

"What next, KP?"

"How about something simple. You know when they used to have the Wonderful World of the Mouse on Sunday nights and they would show shots of this park?"

"Yeah."

"Well, ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to ride those little tea-cups."

"Aw, come on, KP. That's for little kids."

"Pweeze Wonnie?"

He tried to look away, but it was too late. The bottom lip came out. Her eyes got big as saucers and her shoulders scrunched up around her face. She knew he could resist the Puppy Dog Pout when it was something really important, or was keeping a surprise for her, but in an instance like this, he was utterly and totally powerless.

"Oh, okay, but we're going to ride the _Decimator_ next."

"Booyah!" Kim smiled at him, then gave him a tiny little kiss on his earlobe.

The Teacup ride was in fact made for small kids after all and even though Kim was a rather petite woman, she was pretty cramped in it, but the operator offered no objection to the two of them getting on it. Apparently there always seemed to be somebody like Kim who never got their chance to ride it when they were little.

What she never expected was just how fast the ride felt. Or was it just the fact her stomach wasn't as settled as she thought. Then there was the smell of a bad diaper that wafted past her, plus her bottom was still damp and sticking to her backside.

Then Ron started going on about snow crab legs. Cracking them, pulling out the spine and dipping them in warm dripping butter. Any other time that would have set Kim's mouth to watering. Instead, she could feel her gorge rising. It took every bit of her will to keep it down. By the time the ride came to an end, it was obvious even to him that something was terribly wrong with Kim.

She sat down on a brick wall, putting her head between her knees. Ron rubbed her back between her shoulders, not knowing what else to do. He knew that when he got that way, he felt terrible until he got it out of him, but he wasn't going to offer that piece of advice to Kim.

"How is this happening to me?" She whined, looking up slightly.

"Could it be some of that junk you ate?"

"Oh, Ronnie, don't remind me." She gagged slightly. "I don't even want to think of food right now."

Kim looked up again and noticed a little girl of about five looking right at her. "Hey, you're Kim Popsicle, aren't you?"

Normally she got a little laugh out of kids mangling her name like that. Yet all she could manage was a weak "Uh huh."

"You wanna bite?" She held up a half-eaten corn dog, though instead of being covered in yellow mustard, it looked (and smelled) like it had mayonnaise on it. That was it, the straw that broke the camel's back.

Fortunately, Ron was right, though she didn't know it. Once she had most of that garbage food out of her, she felt almost completely better. Still, she was embarrassed almost to tears.

While she had been leaning over the garbage can, she head another kid say "Hey, it's KIM POSSIBLE! And boy is she SICK!"

* * *

a/n Thanks to Captainkodak1 for some suggestions for this chapter. In fact, the last line is actually his. Check out his latest; **Tunnel Vision** and get set to get wet!

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	34. Part XXXIV – Over the River and All That

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXIV – Over the River and All That Jazz**

* * *

It almost seemed certain that she had overslept. The room just seemed too bright to be right. A quick look at the watch sitting on her side's nightstand confirmed it. It was eight thirty and their ride would be there in just under an hour. Mentally berating herself for not setting an alarm or leaving a wakeup call at the main desk, Kim scooted out of the ridiculously comfortable queen sized bed. Ron was still sound asleep himself, sleeping partly on his belly and, unusually, with his head turned away from her.

The night before they had crashed and crashed hard. They were in bed by ten and Kim barely got the words out of her mouth when she asked Ron if it was okay if they just plain went to sleep instead of their more accustomed kissing and cuddling when they got a chance to be together, before she realized he was already asleep himself.

She was pretty ragged when she came to bed herself and she must have really slept hard. Normally when he turned like that in the bed she would end up spooned with him. Was that what they had to look forward to in married life? Somehow she had been entertaining a rather romantic notion that they would spend all their nights cuddled together, even if it meant running an air conditioner to the breaking point to keep it cool enough at night. The reality was actually something else entirely. With the exception of a quick goodnight kiss after both of them got finished with their showers, they staked out their own portion of the bed and fell right to sleep. Then again, maybe that was because of the extra room in the larger bed.

It did tweak her just a little bit, though, that the one chance they had on this trip for some romance time got shot. Sure, she was ready for some good sleep that night, but she always figured they could get up at a reasonable hour in the morning and have some time together (at least once they each had a close encounter with a toothbrush.)

Now it was skip an extra shower (more to shampoo her hair than anything else) and raid the continental breakfast. That is, if she could even get Ron up. She already had her purple crop-top/shorts combo on and was running a brush through her tangled hair and he hadn't moved a muscle. Rufus was just a little pink blob at the foot of the bed, also contentedly snoring away. Granted, the little guy did sleep twenty hours a day, but ten and a half hours for Ron was more than enough.

She was about to yank the covers off of him and drag him out of the bed when she hesitated for a moment. He often told her how much he liked watching her sleep. She often wondered just what all that was about. Sure, she had taken the time to watch him on occasion, though, being quick to nod off when she wanted to catch forty winks, she didn't have as many opportunities as he did. Really, it would take her five minutes to pack all of their things and perhaps ten to snack on some pastries and a cup or two of coffee, _careful there, Possible, remember what happened the last time you had that much before a long car ride!_ Slipping her sneakers on, she sat down cross-legged on the floor and just looked at him.

With the covers up over his shoulder, he looked much more like the younger Ron she had know for so long, the Ron who was just a touch shorter than her, with narrower shoulders. With his face mashed against the pillow she couldn't see that it was slightly leaner than it used to be, though he really could use a shave. His beard was just a shade more reddish than the rest of his hair, something she hadn't imagined before, especially since it really didn't start appearing until his final growth spurt. Vague memories of past dreams drifted back to her. One in particular she remembered him having a neatly trimmed Vandyke. She wasn't exactly sure if she liked him that way, but with the slight haze of fuzz it was easier to picture in the waking world.

Very lightly, she traced the trio of darker freckles on either side of his nose, then the lighter ones across it's bridge. It curled up slightly, as if she were about to trigger a sneeze. He settled down, but his eyes cracked open slightly and he looked right at her.

Kim leaned over and gave him a kiss on his cheek, disregarding the stubble. It was most def time for him to wake up, especially since he would have to take time to shave. There wasn't going to be any appearing at Nana's looking like a bum, Florida or no.

"Wake up, sleepy-head." She said musically.

"Can't we just sleep a little longer?" He stretched his arms underneath the pillows, burying his head even deeper.

She sat on the edge of the bed and put an arm over his waist. "Sorry, baby. We've already overstayed our welcome here. The long ride down to Fort Summerdell beckons."

"Aw man." He rolled onto his back and stretched again, pushing the covers partially off.

Kim blushed crimson, surprised at what he was wearing, or more accurately, what he wasn't wearing. He was already in bed when she got out of the shower and she had assumed he simply wore his boxers to bed. That didn't seem to be the case. Not that she minded, but she was a little surprised he would do that.

"Planning something and fell asleep on me there, loverboy?" She grinned and pulled the covers back up to his waist.

"Yipe." He took a quick look under the covers. "Sorry about that, KP. I was just cooling off from my shower and I guess I forgot."

"Uh huh." She was still grinning as she got up and pulled some clothes out of his bag, tossing them to the bed.

He finally took a look at his own watch. "Oh crud. I was hoping we'd be able to get some real food this morning."

Kim went back to the sink and started brushing her teeth, borrowing a page from Ron's playbook and watching in the mirror as he got up and dressed. It still seemed so odd that he was putting on a tank top and board shorts on Christmas Eve. They had their usual Christmas clothes with them, but past experience with South Florida weather pretty much ruled out thick pants and sweaters.

While Ron took his turn freshening up, she sat on the bed and flipped through the TV channels until she got to the _Weather Watcher's Network_ and confirmed what she suspected. She didn't quite know if it was global warming or just an unusual warm snap, even for Sunny Florida, but their destination was calling for highs in the mid-eighties.

Ron wandered back into the main room and took precisely two minutes cramming his few belongings back into his bag. His hair was still a ragged mess, but that was perfectly normal for him and she absolutely loved him that way. She got up and put herself between him and the bag, wrapping her arms around his back, then gave him a proper good-morning kiss.

"Mmm." He broke away after a couple minutes. "Any way we can stall our ride?"

"Nope, sorry, Ronnie. Beggars can't be choosers I'm afraid."

"One of these first days I'm going to invent a toothpaste you can use before going to bed so you can have a kiss like that without having to stop and brush your teeth first."

"You do that and we won't have to wait for your Naco trust. You're not disappointed, are you?"

"About what?" He kneaded her waist, not quite ready to let her go.

"That we didn't make out last night."

"Nah. We've got our whole lives to do that. Besides, we've still got two more nights before we go back home and nothing's stopping us from getting some personal time then either. These college winter breaks are badical."

Kim sat down on the counter where their bags sat. "About the next couple nights…I have a feeling it's just going to be a goodnight kiss, and that's it. You remember how Dad is, don't you?"

"Yeah, but he's gotten pretty cool about us, especially since we 'officially' got engaged."

She pulled him close and nuzzled his freshly shaved cheek. "Dad has Mom running interference for us, plus he's known you almost your whole life, but where do you think he got his…standards from in the first place?"

"Well, that's okay. I pretty much figured I was going to be sleeping on the pull-out anyway, unless you want to get a room in a hotel while we're there."

Kim considered that for a moment. "I didn't think of that. Is that a good idea?"

Ron shook his head. "Nah. We can do that any time. Heck, you could just come over to my house if we want that. This trip isn't for us anyway, it's for Nana. If she wants to be old-fashioned about us while we're at her place, that's cool. Besides, if we got a room for ourselves, how would that be any different than us sleeping together at her place if she thinks it's wrong in the first place."

"You really have turned into the smart one. Have I told you that I love you today?"

"Well, I kinda took that kiss to mean that, but I do like hearing it. Oh, and I love you too." He pulled her close and kissed her again.

"Okay, next question. Do we stay up here until the last minute smacking lips or do we raid the breakfast table?" He asked, his nose barely a centimeter from hers.

"Well, this is nice, and we did have a big dinner once I got over my little episode, but I think there's somebody else we should consider." With that, she looked over at the bed where Rufus was still snoring contentedly.

"Rufus, what do you think, buddy? You wanna sleep in while we make out or do you want to eat?"

He perked his little head up, answering by cocking a tiny eye at the two of them as a way of saying "What do you think?" Finally, he sat up and squeaked "Cheese!"

"I think we're outvoted." Kim gave him one more quick kiss then turned to finish her own packing.

"Oh, KP, you told me to remind you."

"Right. Thanks." With that, she went over to the sink and filled a cup of water, taking a couple vitamins and another pill. As she came back, she leaned over the bed and gave Rufus a big kiss on top of his head, making him squirm uncomfortably. She just grinned as she shouldered her load.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Fenton." Kim said, glancing over at Ron, whose knuckles were turning white as he gripped the seat. The big silver recreational vehicle was careening down the interstate at a rate that almost gave her pause, if it weren't for the fact they were actually keeping pace with most of the traffic. Still, the ride was just erratic enough to worry her slightly.

"Think nothing of it, Miss Possible. It's the least I could do after you cut me and my wife out of that goo." The large man said as he concentrated intently on the road.

"No big, between my laser lipstick and the one your daughter has, that green stuff never stood a chance. This looks like out exit coming up."

He turned the wheel, almost skidding the vehicle as they turned down the ramp toward Fort Summerdell. Before long they were shooting down the main boulevard, the beach shops and restaurants rocketing by.

The place looked strange compared to the two times they had been there before. If it seemed slightly quieter during their vacation two summers ago, it was a veritable ghost town now. There were still a few people out on the beach, even a couple swimming, but most of the shops were closed, with metal gates rolled down on the storefronts and there were only a modest number of people strolling about. The place was just small enough and the weather just a touch too iffy to pull in the larger crowds some of the other resorts did. Perhaps that was one of the reasons a large number of retired people called the beach community home.

Chez Leisure was in the northern part of town, on the edge of a tidal pool that separated the majority of the resort from a sprawling everglades swamp. It wasn't as close to the beach as Kim would have liked, but the residents hadn't come there for that.

Kim was glad she had helped Ron pack as they unloaded the big vehicle. In the past he was prone to bring literally everything but the kitchen sink. They were only going to be away from home for three nights, so all they really needed was some clothing. Even at that, they did bring more than they would actually need, but the time of year forced them to bring clothes for a much broader range of weather conditions. The forecast for home was projecting snow on Christmas day, so it would do for them to step off the plane at Middleton Airport wearing the light clothes they had on that day.

As the RV sped off, they were left alone on the sidewalk for a couple minutes. Finally Ron gave Kim a questioning glance.

"We got here about an hour earlier than we expected. Besides, if Nana's hip is bothering her, maybe she doesn't want to be moving around so very much. Come on, honey, we know which bungalow is hers. We'll surprise her." She picked up her bags and slung the straps over her shoulders.

Ron did the same, then surprised her by taking her bags as well. Kim normally didn't go for that particular brand of chivalry, preferring to carry her own load, but she quickly realized he was doing it more for her grandmother's benefit, having been previously exposed to her old fashioned streak.

As they walked up to her cottage, she noticed a trio of fairly large, older men sitting together at a picnic table. They seemed to take special note of the couple as they walked past, though they quickly turned their attention to whatever they had been doing before as they reached the door.

She rang the doorbell herself since Ron was struggling with virtually all of their luggage save for her toiletries bag. They waited a minute or so, exchanging worried glances until they heard movement inside. Finally the door opened and Kim was swept into a big hug.

"Kimberly Anne, Ronald, you don't know how happy it make me the two of you could come down here to see me for the holidays." She finally let her go and drew Ron into a big hug of his own, despite the heavy load draped on his shoulders. It almost pulled him off his feet. "Come inside, come in, before the two of you catch your death."

They followed her in and Ron finally was able to temporarily put his burden down on the living room couch, which he pretty much figured was going to be his home for the next two nights.

"Your Mother has sent me the nicest pictures of you two. I'm so happy for you." She pulled out a handy stack of photos that Kim's Mom had printed out. There were enough there that if she hadn't been using a high capacity digital camera on Thanksgiving Day she would likely have gone broke having the film processed.

Kim had already seen the pictures a dozen times, but humored Nana as she went through them. When she got to the one of Ron down on his knee, she lingered there for quite some time. "You know, I should really have this one enlarged so I can have it framed. The two of you make the loveliest couple."

She finally put the photos back on the foyer desk and took a good look at the two of them. "Kimberly Anne, I'm surprised at you, wearing such clothing in the middle of winter."

"Nana, it's eighty degrees outside…and this is the same outfit I wore when we helped you move in here."

"That was late spring, dear. Now this is Fort Summerdell, not that other place to the south. Really, if it's so warm then you should wear a sun dress. Like that lovely green dress I sent for you a while back. I was just dying to see the class pictures of you wearing it."

Kim smiled sheepishly. "They…didn't turn out too well."

Ron's grin was a little wider. "I think they monkeyed around with the film that day, Nana, but I'm sure we can get another picture of Kim wearing it." Automatically his hand came to rest on Kim's waist, right above the band of her purple shorts.

"Ron!" Kim growled under her breath, just low enough that Nana's hearing aid wouldn't pick it up. "I am so not wearing that outfit."

If Nana had been trying to hear what they were saying she didn't show it. Instead her eyes came to rest on something else. Specifically, Ron's hand on Kim's bare flesh.

"Now, that's enough of that. The two of you aren't married yet, you know."

Ron's hand drew back as if it were shocked. He exchanged a glance with Kim.

_I warned you_, she thought at him.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	35. Part XXXV – Black Swamp Deep

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXV – Black Swamp Deep**

* * *

Nana's Chez Leisure cottage looked little different than the last time Kim and Ron saw it together, save for a three foot tall Christmas tree sitting on a table in the corner and a wreath on the front door. Being perhaps the first Christmas she had actually spent in this particular home they all looked new, probably purchased at the local _Smarty Mart_ or _Bullseye_ store. They realized late they really should have brought some decorations with them instead of just their gifts.

Kim took the spare room her parents had when they had stayed there several years earlier, which was a far cry better than the lumpy pull-out Ron was consigned to. For half a moment she wondered if it really would have been a better idea to get a hotel room in town. After all, they would be significantly cheaper and with Nana having more trouble getting around it might have been better just to visit. Then again, there was her reaction to what was, for them, a perfectly innocent show of affection. She may very well launch into a lecture if she became aware of their sleeping arrangements. They would also have to be careful what details they mentioned about their stop in Orlando. It was kind of funny the one night they spent together recently where all they really did was sleep and they still had to be quiet about it.

Ron was still happy to take the sleeper-sofa, as opposed to sleeping bags on the floor with Kim's brothers back when they were fifteen. Those two were in their 'not quite wanting to sleep' phase then, keeping him up half the night yapping about their inventions. This time he would be alone and could get some of his precious Zs, at least until Kim and Nana got up. From past experience he knew Kim's grandmother was not an early riser and both he and Kim had outgrown the urge to get up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. Ron's enjoyment of Christmas centered around Kim anyhow.

Ron helped Kim carry her luggage into her room; carefully making a point to leave the door wide open while he was in there. "You know, it's funny. When we stayed here before, we sorta shared a room."

"Sure, but then I wasn't even your girlfriend and we also had the Tweebs in the room with us, so even if we got the notion to do anything else, they would have run off to Mom and Dad in a heartbeat. Besides, we all shared rooms halfway down and would have halfway back if we didn't get sidetracked with that mission to Guam."

"Yeah. Guess Jim and Tim were about the only other ones just as clueless about how we felt about each other. They would have totally freaked out if we'd been together then. I just seems so odd. It's not like Nana's from the Victorian era; after all, your father was born in, what? Sixty?"

"Yeah, but just humor her. She's eighty two, after all, and she's entitled to be a bit old fashioned and on top of that, our sitch is, well, unique." Or at least she thought so. Lots of kids their age and younger had gone much further and there were plenty who had even been married by then, but few had their history.

He glanced out the sliding glass door leading to the porch. "So, what are the rules anyway? All I did was touch your waist. Wasn't like we were cuddling or anything. She acted almost like she caught us making out or with my hand a lot lower than it was."

"I dunno. Guess it was because you were touching skin. Let's just play it safe and save the touchy-touchy stuff until we head home, 'kay? Two nights isn't going to kill us."

Ron plopped down in the chair by the door. "I don't know if I can hold out that long without my daily 'Kim-jection.'" He held the back of his hand to his forehead like he was in distress.

"Oh, so not the drama. You lasted twelve years without it, you can last two nights."

"But I had no idea it was so addictive."

Kim finished putting her few things away and walked over to him, kissing his forehead. "You're weird, but I love you."

He sat up a little straighter, testing the air. "Ah, lemon juice, lemon zest and just a hint of vanilla. Do I detect your Nana's famous lemon squares?"

"More than likely. You're not going to do anything awful like stealing the recipe are you?"

"Me, steal? Come on, KP, you know me better than that. After all, I don't need her recipe, I just have to actually watch her do it once and I can do it myself. Kinda like you and kung-fu moves."

"It's not that easy, baby. Come on, Scram, I'm going to change clothes."

* * *

Ron wandered out onto the patio. He was still a little perplexed at the new wrinkle in Nana's over protectiveness where it came to Kim. It seemed to come right out of left field, especially considering the fact she had said in the past that she knew the two of them had strong feelings for each other and she didn't say a word that they spent quite a lot of time up in Kim's room on Christmas. Maybe she was just keeping her mouth shut, hoping they would see the light themselves then, though it took a few more months before it finally happened.

Oh well. Almost certainly they would go for a walk into town that afternoon after Sunday/Christmas Eve dinner. Then they could hold hands, walk arm in arm and, perhaps, find that one bench on the boardwalk and practically camp out there until after dark. That turned into one of the more romantic 'dates' they had early in their new relationship. Then they could walk on the beach. The moon would only be a slender crescent that night and with the town nearly deserted, they should have some privacy for at least some good lip smacking time.

He stretched, closing his eyes as he reached for the sky. The ride down had been tense for him, so he was looking forward to relaxing for a bit. There wasn't any reason to prowl the town until Kim was done changing, so he arranged one of the lounge chairs so it would have a better view of the town (he thought it was a shame there was no view of the beach, but hey, it was a nice place anyway.)

Before he could sit down, a large hand gripped his shoulder. Three big shadows fell over him.

"Squirt, you're coming with us." Said a low, husky voice.

Ron gulped as he was led away.

* * *

Kim changed into a pair of denim capris and a full length T-shirt. It felt a little strange tucking her shirt in with those particular pants, but perhaps that would placate Nana to some degree. It was a little funny to her that they had changed there in the same room that morning, yet had to do so in private at Nana's. Well, perhaps not so funny, considering she still used her changing screen and Ron would turn his head and shield his eyes in her own home.

Was it a mark of some lingering immaturity that she felt a little tweaked at Nana's reaction? On the one hand, she was utterly giddy about the two of them being engaged. She already made it a point to stare at her rings (she had on all three though normally she only wore just the big one) and went on and on about how wonderful it would be to see the two of them walk down the aisle together and bring her great-grandchildren (again making Kim wonder, like with Ron's parents, if they realized it was still going to be several years before the wedding and several after that before they would even consider having children.)

Her grandmother still turned a slightly disapproving eye on her as she emerged from the bedroom. "Dear, are you certain you wouldn't rather wear one of those sundresses I picked out for you? Honestly, a young lady your age, always running around in shorts, showing off your legs like that."

Kim rolled her eyes just a bit, considering only the bottom half of her calves were visible in the capris, but that was as much of a compromise as she was willing to make. The calendar might say it was winter and Christmas Day was less than twelve hours away, but it was still quite warm outside.

"Nana, you know I'm not much of a dress type of girl."

"Really? But you look so lovely in them." She finished turning the chicken frying in the pan and went back into the living room, picking up the picture of Kim and Ron at the Senior Prom.

Kim didn't have the heart to tell Nana that both that dress and Ron's tuxedo were utterly destroyed in a battle with Señor Senior Sr.

"Kimberly, look at Ronald's face in this picture. If you don't wear a dress for me, do it for him. You are a beautiful young woman; you shouldn't go around in boy's clothes _all_ the time. It's Christmas Eve, so I think this is special occasion enough." She went back to the kitchen, checking on her dinner preparations.

Kim sighed and blew that one lock of hair back off her nose again. _Oh, what could it hurt, it's not like anyone I know other than Ron is going to see me and he wouldn't care if I was wearing a sack._ Going back into the room, she picked up the stack of dresses Nana kept handy for her. Most of them were quite frumpy, though a couple did have a little potential. Still, as she selected a sleeveless pink dress with a semi-poofy skirt she was thankful that even the rest of her family wasn't there to see her in it.

* * *

Ron didn't know what to think as the three large men led him to a boat tied up at the edge of the retirement complex. Without so much as a word they pushed him into a seat and cast off, heading deep into the swamp.

Every so often he would look at their faces. They were all elderly men, probably residents at Chez Leisure, but they were still formidable looking. Each was taller than him and at least twice as broad. Their expressions were implacable.

Finally they brought the boat to a stop in a stand of cypress trees. The 'civilized' land of For Summerdell seemed like a distant memory, even though they had only been in the boat twenty to thirty minutes.

"Whu…what do you want?" he finally stammered as the boat drifted to a halt.

All three of them looked down at him, making him suddenly feel far smaller than he was. In reality, they weren't as big as some of the henchmen he had faced at Kim's side, but something about them was far more menacing. Every instinct screamed danger.

"Do you know who we are?" The one at the outboard motor asked.

"Uh, friends of Nana?"

"That's right." The one at the bow said. "You might even say we are almost like family to her."

"That's good to know." Ron said nervously, not sure where they were going with this.

"That means her granddaughter is like family two." The third one explained.

"Miss Possible is a very special lady." The first one said.

"I couldn't agree more." Ron responded, trying to regain his composure a little bit.

"Do you know where you are?" The middle one asked.

"Uh, the swamp?"

"That's right." The first one replied. "One of the few places left on this earth where somebody could disappear."

"Forever." Another finished for him.

"That's…good to know." Ron was trying to disappear into the middle of the boat.

"The water here is black…" One said.

"…and deep. Just like a great big hole in the universe." The motor man finished.

"Black…hole…deep." Ron squeaked.

"Right." All three said in unison. Then the guy in the middle with him reached under the seat for a box. It looked for all the world like a tool box to Ron. What in the world had he gotten himself into? What were these men trying to do? And why would they be so protective of Kim? Just because they were close friends of Nana's?

Something was put in Ron's hand. It took his brain a moment to register exactly what it was. It was long, with a cork grip and a spool with a crank on it. Finally his fear addled mind said "Fishing rod."

"I think we should really introduce ourselves." The motorman said. "I'm Rab Harmon. This is Sam Mackenzie and up there at the front, that's Bud Roberts."

"We served with Miss Possible's Nana when she was in the Navy." Bud explained.

"She was the only woman in the unit, the first to complete the underwater demolitions training." Sam said in his raspy voice.

"So, what does that have to do with me?"

"We're getting to that, Squirt." Rab quickly cut him off.

"Like we said, Nana Possible is a very special lady." Bud stated.

"She's saved each of our lives on multiple occasions." Sam added.

"And we don't have to explain to you how special her granddaughter is, how much she means to her, do we?" Rab asked.

"Uh, no."

"What we want is real simple. We want your assurances that you will always treat her like she deserves. Always treat her like a lady."

"Nana just wants her to be happy." One said.

"If not…it's a one way ride to the swamp."

"Black swamp deep?" Ron asked.

"Exactly." All three of them responded.

* * *

Kim emerged once more from the dressing room. If anything, in the air conditioned house, the dress was cooler than the clothes she had temporarily worn. That was fine with her, considering how hot everything felt in comparison to her cool home.

The dress was a soft shade of pink with little flowers all over it done in lighter pink and white. The skirt did go past her knees, but it was airy enough to be comfortable. With the slightly too big waist cinched down with a white belt, she found it didn't look half bad on her. She liked looking feminine, though she still preferred pants over a dress. Dresses and skirts were mainly for 'dressing up' in her mind. Pants were just so much more practical, especially when she could be called on a mission at any moment's notice. Slacks, cargos and capris did not end up stuck in her underwear like that time she was forced by convention while protecting that prince.

"Now, isn't that better dear? You look absolutely stunning in that."

"Have you seen Ron?" She looked around, slightly concerned. Kim half expected to find him snoozing outside on the lounge chair. "I wanted to tell him to change clothes too."

"He went fishing." Nana said, setting some of the finished chicken onto a platter.

Normally the sight of her grandmother's fried chicken would set her mouth to watering, but what she had just said completely took her mind off of the pan-cooked poultry. "He did what?"

"Some of my friends decided while we fixed dinner they would take him out fishing. Have a little man-to-man talk with him. Don't worry; they will be back in plenty of time for dinner. Now, come on in here. Since it won't be long before you're setting up housekeeping with that fine boy, it's time you learned something special."

* * *

Ron dunked his line into the water, hoping he wasn't skinning his ignorance about fishing in general. If he was doing something wrong, none of the three gentlemen said anything about it. They each, in turn, baited their hooks and set to fishing. Nobody seemed to be catching anything, but that didn't seem to be the point of the trip.

"You love her, don't you?" Sam finally asked, pulling his hook up and checking to see if his bait had been stolen by a wily fish.

"Like everything in the world." Ron responded, mimicking the action as best he could. His bait actually was gone. Putting a fresh worm on his hook, he dunked it back into the water, wondering if he just plain lost it or whether it was eaten.

"Real nice, real nice." Bud said, not otherwise moving.

"That's something you need to remember." Rab said, casting his line further from the boat.

"Remember? How could I forget?"

The three men chuckled. Sam spoke up first. "Oh, there will be times. She's a woman isn't she?"

"Last time I checked."

All three of them looked straight at him. "How close have you been checking?" at least two of them asked.

He was utterly at a loss as to how to respond to that. He had absolute proof of Kim's femininity, but considering the mood of the three ex-sailors he was not about to go into that. "Uh, kind of obvious, considering we pretty much grew up together."

That seemed to satisfy them. "As I was saying." Sam continued. "There will be times when she ticks you off so much you could just go pulling that yellow hair right out of your head. That's when you need to remember how much you love her the most."

"Yup." The other two agreed.

Ron felt a tugging at his line. Before he could react his reel started playing out string as something fairly large and muscular tugged, apparently hooked.

"Whoa, get a hold of it, son."

He grabbed the reel and started cranking. Visions of the other creatures he knew lived in the swamp filled his head. Foremost among them was the alligator that almost got Kim. He didn't fear other creatures like manatees, but he didn't think they would be in this particularly dense part of the swamp. Gators, on the other hand, were plentiful, as he had seen at Drakken's lair. For all he knew, that particular hideout was just on the other side of the nearest grove of cypresses.

"Come on, now boy, you've got a biggun. Don't try to reel him in all at once, gotta work him, wear him out." One of them advised, though he was too intent on his pole to tell which.

"If he doesn't wear me out first. What is this? Moby Dick?"

"Probably a large mouth, the way it's fighting. Now, reel him in a few more turns and let him fight some more."

"I'm trying."

"Get the net, Bud, hurry, I see it."

"Boy sure knows how to hit 'em."

Ron strained for all he was worth, praying the rod, which was bent almost double, would hold. His palms, which were already sweating from the protracted grilling, could barely hold onto the pole. Then, almost without warning, the pole went slack. He tumbled backwards from his seat, almost tangling in another line. Had his line broken?

No, it hadn't. Bud was at the bow, holding a large fish of indeterminate breed in a net. Burly, wrinkled hands clapped him on the back. "Boys, I think we have ourselves a ringer with us. Said he'd never been fishin' before. My eye."

"Hah, Sam, you left that eye in Guam back in sixty-two." Bud said, dumping the flopping example of Piscean wonder into a cooler.

Ron glanced into the bucket. "It is a good one? Maybe dinner tonight?"

"Damn straight, though I'm willing to bet Nana's got plenty of food going already. Especially since she said she was going to have her granddaughter help her cook."

He sat back up suddenly in the boat. "Did you just say, Kim is cooking?"

"Yeah, so? What's the deal?"

Ron scrambled suddenly for the small outboard motor, pulling on the starter cord. "We've got to get back. Nana might not even know."

"Know what?" One of them asked as the motor sputtered to life.

"The danger she's in?" He grabbed the stick and started guiding the boat through the water, much slower than he wished. Then it hit him.

"Uh, which way is the dock?"

* * *

Kim held her breath, crossed her fingers and opened the oven. Nana had been utterly patient with her the whole time, guiding her through step by step, but there had been too many failures in the past. Not to mention Ron wasn't with her. She had a pretty good idea about the true nature of the impromptu fishing expedition, but she figured he was going to be okay. Freaked out a little, maybe, but essentially okay.

"Better check on them, dear. Don't want them to burn and waste all that effort."

"Right, Nana." Steeling herself, she opened the oven door, reaching in with a mitt. She almost closed her eyes, fearing what she would see when the cookie sheet came out.

Instead, the mass of yellow had a perfect, barely browned crust on top. She slowly let out her breath as she put the sheet on the butcher block counter. Nana came over to inspect her work, cutting a small bite and popping it into her mouth after blowing on it a moment.

"Kimberly Anne, I am surprised at you."

Kim slumped. "Is it that bad?"

"No, dear. I'm surprised that you would go on and on about how bad you are at cooking. These are perfect." She took her knife and cut the mass into squares.

Kim almost couldn't close her mouth. True, her grandmother had been coaching her through the whole process, but it was only her hands that had touched the lemon squares as she made them. "I cooked." She said, incredulously. "I actually cooked."

"See, it's not so hard. Now, put these on a plate and set them on the table." She winked at her granddaughter. "We'll tell Ronald what you fixed after dinner."

Kim took her time working the squares free, even though they weren't sticking. She just didn't want to screw up at this late juncture, like she did with the pierogi. She wasn't going to relax until they were all on the plate and safely on the table.

"Nana, how do you feel about Ron and me?"

"Well, how should I feel, Dear. He's a wonderful young man."

Kim bit her lip. "I mean, Mom and Dad are behind us all the way, and so are his folks, but…sometimes some of our other friends think we're too young."

Nana put a platter of chicken on the table beside the macaroni and cheese she had baked earlier. "Nonsense, Kimberly. Now, if you had just met him, that would be different, but I am the last person in the world to tell someone like you that you are too young. I was married at your age and I almost had a child right away."

"Almost? I never heard about that."

Nana looked sad for a moment. "You have to remember what my lifestyle was like then. You should know, considering all the missions you do. I actually lost two children before I finally had Slim. By that time I had finally retired from the field and resigned my commission. That's one of the great dangers I had to face, and something you are going to have to deal with two, especially considering the way you two act."

Kim's cheeks flushed crimson. "Nana, we're…"

"I know, dear. I may act old fashioned from time to time and I may be overprotective, but I know how much you love him. I really wasn't so upset with him this afternoon, it just surprised me a little. I've talked to your mother and father, they told me how close the two of you are, and I pretty much figure you stayed together in Orlando before you came here."

"You knew?"

"Of course. Now, that doesn't mean I approve, at least in my house."

Kim hugged Nana. "We're fine with it, Nana. It's not like we live together, we've still got our own rooms in separate homes. We just like to be together when we're away."

"Now, once you two do get married, that's a whole other story. I want to see great-grandchildren before I'm gone."

"Eventually Nana, even…"

Suddenly the screen door burst open, admitting a clearly distraught Ron. He skidded to a stop at the kitchen door. "No fire trucks, no smoke, good sign." He wheezed, apparently having sprinted straight from the dock."

"So not the drama, Ron. My cooking isn't that bad." She picked up a lemon square. "Here, have one of these and calm down."

He chomped down on it, taking half in one bite. Rufus appeared and helped himself to another one, also eagerly plowing through it.

"Nana, you have outdone yourself." He tried saying with his mouth full.

Kim and Nana exchanged winks, their faces plastered with smiles.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	36. Part XXXVI – The Future’s So Nice

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXVI – The Future's So Nice**

* * *

For the couple, it was like taking a step back in time almost a year and a half, to a time that, as memories dulled, became much more about the magic between them. All of the embarrassments, the bad feelings, the missteps, they were slowly washed away by the passage of time until all they could remember were those special moments. So much had gone on in that relatively short time, it felt like it had been much longer than just a little over fifteen months. Both of them were taller (though Kim's single inch was hard to notice) and it seemed like that was a whole other world.

If the town had been quiet during the day, it was utterly deserted that night. For one thing, much to their surprise, the warm day actually did give way to a quite cool night. They were in no danger of experiencing a White Christmas like the rest of their families back home, but it did force them to change clothes one more time, finally opting for their familiar holiday sweaters, Kim wearing her thick, maroon colored wool top with tiny snowflakes and Ron wearing his slightly lighter blue sweater with a series of six pointed starts that looked more like dots at first glance.

Despite the cool, moist breeze coming off the ocean and the utter quiet, they were lost in each other as they walked up the boardwalk holding hands. If they wanted their old bench, it was there for the taking, but they decided instead to simply walk for a time. They stayed up on the boardwalk itself instead of chancing getting their feet wet by a random wave.

Kim got a good laugh as Ron described his 'fishing trip' with Nana's old Navy buddies. Apparently more than just the "anything's possible" attitude ran in her family. That made her think of how she would be if she ever had a daughter. Well, even a son, for that matter. Was she going to be that protective? Or was that going to fall to Ron.

She started humming a song to herself, moving her hips in time. Before long Ron joined in, spinning her in a close approximation of a dance called "Shag," which was perfectly appropriate considering the beach setting, though it would have had a better effect if she was still wearing the pink dress with it's long, full skirt.

Ron pulled her into a hug as they finished the dance. Kim just let him hold her like that for what seemed like a long time. It was getting late, but they were loath to go back to the cottage. Somewhere in the distance they could hear somebody singing Christmas carols, bringing them back to the real season at hand.

Finally she took his hands and led him to one of the benches, sitting across his lap and kissing him fiercely. "I love this place." She said as their lips parted.

"I do too. It makes me think on you." He gave the top of her leg a good squeeze.

Kim kissed him again, forgetting for the moment they were out on a public walkway on a very open beach. Their earlier trip, fuzzy shots of the two of them kissing surfaced both on the internet and in the tabloids. Fortunately, the kissing looked perfectly innocent. There were no unaccounted for hands and at the time she was sixteen and going steady for the first time, though both of them were ferociously glad whoever had taken that picture wasn't privy to the conversation they were having at that time.

Actually, despite Kim's Dad being a little peeved at the whole deal, Kim was quite happy that there was some evidence out there for the whole world to see just what Ron meant to her. Now, if shots of them on the beach in that sleeping bag had surfaced, things would have been considerably worse, especially since what they were doing could have been majorly misinterpreted. Even if they weren't, she didn't want to have to explain that to her Dad at the time. She didn't even want to explain certain things to him now, though he was pretty much taking an 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind' approach.

"We're eventually going to have to go back." Kim slipped off his lap and sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder."

He seemed to consider for a moment. "Well, Nana's probably already asleep."

Kim sat up and looked at him almost in shock. "I am not sneaking around in Nana's house. You're sleeping on the pull-out and that's final. I so do not want to wake up in the morning with her looking at the two of us in bed, especially on Christmas morning."

"Whoa. I was just going to suggest we curl up on the couch and turn the sound on the TV down really low."

"Good save." She put her head back on his shoulder, staring out at the black water of the Atlantic Ocean.

She slipped her hand around his back and into the band of his pants, though she only rested her fingers on his hips. "Ronnie, why are we waiting?"

He chuckled slightly. "This again? I thought we finally agreed we were going to wait until we got married instead of tempting fate like we have been."

"No, I don't mean that. Well, yeah I do, sorta. I mean waiting to actually get married and all. I know we're still living at home and we don't actually have any jobs, but, if we went ahead and had the ceremony, what does that change?"

"I dunno. I guess I haven't thought of it like that. It just seems like it would change a whole lot more than just whether we could sleep together whenever we wanted to. Being married is a whole lot more than just making love."

"I know that, Ron. But we're already together. We could probably live at one of our places until we could afford our own. Maybe we could get jobs, something part time."

Ron just shook his head. "I don't know if it would feel right living at one of our parent's places. I mean, you said it yourself, you were kind of freaked out by the prospect of making out in their house, even if they weren't home."

Kim nuzzled his cheek. "I didn't seem to have that problem at your house, and your folks even put the bigger bed in your room for us."

"It just seems like we'd be doing an end run around what we already had planned, like making love was so important we'd skip right ahead to it on a technicality."

"Ronnie, all that aside, you still haven't come up with a reason we should have to wait that long. Honey, we're talking three and a half years. We'll be twenty-one, on the verge of turning twenty two."

"KP, listen to what you're saying. Twenty one. We'll barely be out of college. We're eighteen right now, though sometimes I think you're eighteen going on thirty. We don't have to rush this thing, and if it's really important to you, we can always take an extra day getting back to Middleton, if you know what I mean."

Kim let her fingers slip a little deeper. "I like that idea. We were talking a good game about a couple nights not mattering, but they do, baby, they really do. I don't know what it is, but there is something about this place, or there's just something about us." She laid her head back down on his shoulder. "Ron, if I asked you to, would you go ahead and marry me?"

"KP, I'd marry you this minute if that's what you really want."

"But is that what you want?"

"I don't know, Kim. The thought of being married to you is badical. You don't know how happy it makes me feel that you want to do something so permanent, so forever with me, but somehow that feels like we're rushing something. It's like we have to give something up, something I really can't put into words."

"It means we would have to grow up, doesn't it?" She said, frowning.

"Yeah. I think that's it. In fact I know that's it. KP, we spent the last summer almost miserable because we were so intent on reaching eighteen so we could go off and pretty much get to third base with each other. From this perspective, that doesn't look as grown up as it did while we were waiting. It's like tonight…Christmas Eve when we were younger. We just wanted to pass that last little bit of time so we could get to a toy we wanted to play with, only last summer, we were the toys. See what I'm getting at?"

Kim put on a partial puppy-dog-pout, stopping at the eyes. "Wasn't what we did supposed to be fun?"

"Well, it was."

"Don't you want to do that some more?" She walked her finders up his leg.

"Of course I do. I dunno, KP. We're at a point where…gah. It feels like if I want to do something that can make me feel like I don't have to grow up quite yet, it's actually the more grown up decision. Does that make sense?"

"In a way, it does. So you're saying we should wait?"

"Yeah."

"Even wait for…everything?"

"Kim, we've made up our minds, then we've gotten into a sitch like this and we change it, then it bites us on the butt. Everybody has been behind us from day one about us getting married, but that's always been with the understanding we'd be taking our time. Even if we do wait that long, we'll still be getting married pretty young."

"I know, but there is Nana to consider too. She's not getting any younger and I'd hate it if she wasn't around."

"I think she'll be just fine. Bottom line it for me, KP. Do you want to go ahead or do you want to wait?"

"But what do you want, Ronnie?"

"Kim, just for once, take me out of the equation. Do you want to get married now?"

"Yes."

"Would you wait?"

"Yes."

"Okay, now you're just confusing me." He admitted.

Hoping to clear that confusion, she reached for his chin and kissed him, ending it by lightly biting his lower lip. "Honey, it's not possible to take you out of the equation. This is something we both have to agree on and if you really think about it, we've never actually sat down and talked it out. Yes, it would be nice, but like you said, the only benefit we really would get would be in the bedroom. It would make a whole lot of other stuff hard, and on top of all that, there's always the chance we could have a little accident. I haven't exactly been miss-perfect where it comes to taking something."

"I noticed that. What's the deal, I thought you were supposed to be pretty good about remembering that?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, but having a baby now…that might ruin a lot of plans we have for the future, and even if we didn't, you're right, we'd have to get jobs and with school that would pretty much mean giving up missions, probably for good. Plus, you were right about last summer. There were times when all I could think of was getting you alone in a room so we could do 'adult' things. That was pretty childish, no matter how right it felt at the time. Well, maybe not childish in the doing, but in the way we acted leading up to that."

"We're not going to do another one of those 'deciding not to decide' things, are we?" He asked, twisting towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"No. I think we need something definite. Maybe not a specific date, but a real idea of when."

"I say we go for what we were talking about all along. If we get married after school's out, we'll meet all the criteria for my trust fund, so we can get our own place. We'll be pretty much done with school, unless you go to graduate school, so I think that summer is going to be the best time."

Kim reached over and kissed him again, letting her hands drift to other places. "You're sure we can wait that long?"

"I don't know about _that_, but we can certainly try." He let his own hands drift closer to the 'danger zone,' earning a playful scowl.

Kim stood up, grabbing his hands and pulling him with her. "Come on. It's getting late and the quicker we get to bed, the quicker we get to Christmas morning."

"You know, that logic doesn't always work. It just makes me sit awake in bed half the night, waiting for the chance to get to your house before all the unwrapping starts."

She put an arm around his waist as they slowly made their way back to the cottage. "Then let's take our time going home Tuesday and you can take some time unwrapping another present."

"I like how you think, KP."

"Plus, you have to kiss me goodnight tonight, before you go sleep in that other bed."

"Booyah." He whispered as they made the turn away from the beach.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	37. Part XXXVII – Present Time

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXVII – Present Time**

* * *

Before she opened her eyes, Kim stretched, trying to work the kinks out of her body. Even being in tip-top shape, sleeping in a strange bed sometimes left her stiff, especially when she only had a few hours sleep. It had been close to one when she finally came back with Ron, and it wasn't because they had found some private place to spend time alone either. As they walked back to the retirement complex they heard the singing again. It turned out it wasn't just carols they heard, but hymns. A local church was just starting their Christmas Eve candlelight service. It used to be Kim's family never missed going to theirs, though in the past couple years they mysteriously stopped going. Perhaps it was just a change in tradition, Kim didn't know. Of course, two years ago they all ended up in the arctic that night with Drakken and Shego, though that shouldn't have influenced the decision the past Christmas.

Ron's hand tightened on hers and he just turned down the sidewalk toward the church doors. They were greeted with smiles and were handed bulletins and simple white candles with hand protectors. He may have been Jewish, but because of Kim, Christmas was as important to him as it was to her. He sang right along with her, knowing all the words to the joyous hymns, having sung them most of his life. If anyone noticed the designs on his sweater, they never once mentioned it. The service finally ended right around midnight with the singing of Silent Night.

They were just plain wrong about Nana having already gone to bed. She was waiting in the living room for them, looking all the world like her Dad did back when she first started dating. She was sitting on the couch in her housecoat, the cane she had been using of late close at hand. It looked like she was about to say something until she noticed the church bulletins in Ron's hand. They were very likely about to have their ears bent a little save for that, making Kim glad he had wanted to go.

The only fly in the ointment of Nana still being up at that hour was she didn't get much of a goodnight kiss from Ron. They managed a chaste peck under her watchful gaze, then took turns changing into their sleepwear.

Kim turned to her side, nuzzling deeper into the pillow. It wasn't as large or soft at the ones she was used to on her bed, or part of a stack of smaller pillows like on Ron's, but it was warm and the house was just a bit cool with the sudden resurgence of winter, plus, until either Ron or Nana were up and about there was absolutely no reason to get out of bed, so she just scrunched her eyes a little tighter and relaxed. Soon enough the next semester would start and they would be back to their routine of getting up at six every morning (later if they were together, since there was less drive-time involved.)

That was when she heard the sound.

It was snoring, and even though it wasn't all that loud, it had a sort of insistent quality that rose above the soft hiss of the central air, making its presence known. However, what made it most surprising was the fact she was supposed to be alone. If she heard snoring it had better be Ron sawing logs in the next room. Instead it was coming from the pillow beside her.

She cracked one eye open, catching the interloper in the act. He was in fact in bed with her, the covers pulled up over his bare body, his head sunk down in the pillow, his eyes closed though his face had an expression of pure contentment. The question was, why was he in there with her instead of on the sleeper sofa?

Sitting up, she yanked the covers off his naked body, then put her hands on her hips, staring in mock scorn. He woke up with a start (and a cold rush of air) scratching his head and looking around in confusion.

Kim finally smiled. "A little confused there, Rufus? No, Ron isn't sleeping with me, he's in the living room."

Rufus squeaked a little, trying to get the cobwebs out of his head as well. She pretty much guessed that was what had happened. He was getting so used to them being together he was getting into the habit of staking out his particular part of the bed, principally in the warmest spot, that being between them. She smiled sweetly at him and picked him up, planting a little kiss on his round head.

"Thanks, Rufus."

He cocked his head in confusion and scratched it, wondering exactly what he was being thanked for.

"Thanks for being my cuddle-buddy last night. That's why I got such a good night's sleep, having somebody familiar close by."

That seemed to satisfy him, though once she sat him down he immediately curled back up in the bed. Kim, on the other hand, was up and was going to stay up by that point. She was wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, so she was presentable outside her room. Quietly she slipped out her door. It was a quarter till eight and the rest of the house was still dead quiet.

Ron was curled up in a sideways fetal position on the sleeper sofa. He somehow managed to kick most of his covers off, but he was wearing his dark blue long pajamas, so he wasn't in any danger of embarrassment. Every so often he would blindly reach out, searching for something on the pillow beside him. Kim wondered if he was looking for her or for Rufus in his sleep. More likely the latter, since the little guy had pretty much slept with him constantly for his entire life. The times Kim had spent with him really only added up to about a fortnight.

She sat down on the edge of the bed bedside him, leaning over and giving him a light kiss on his stubbly cheek. "Wake up, sleepyhead, it's Christmas morning." He voice had a musical quality to it.

He rolled onto his back and blinked. "Wow, Santa came." He said sleepily.

"Oh, how's that?"

Conscious that Nana could appear at any moment, he chose twining his fingers with hers over his first impulse to pull her down to him for a good morning kiss. "He brought me an angel."

"Liar." She grinned at him. "Angels don't have wicked split ends that need combing out or a strong need for coffee."

"How do you know? Maybe that's why angels always seem so chipper, they've always already had their coffee. Plus, I like you with bed-head. It always reminds me of what I want to see first thing when I wake up in the morning. Hey, speaking of the first thing I see, where's Rufus?"

"He's cheating on you. He spent the night with me." She got up, heading for the bathroom.

"Oh, he did? Hey, you're not going to get your shower, are you?"

"No. Why? We are so not taking one together if that's what you're thinking of. I'm just answering the call."

"Nah, I know that's not gonna happen. I've gotta, you know, answer the call myself."

"I'll be out in a jiffy. Turn on the TV, but turn it down low. I want to see if there's a weather forecast. It'd be a shame if this cold snap stays and we didn't get a chance to hit the beach for a little while at least."

He already had the channel by the time she came back. While they waited for the local forecast to roll around they went about folding the bed back into the sofa. I just seemed a little more proper for them to be sitting on a couch in their pajamas than it would on the bed. They stashed the covers in the closet they had come from so he could re-use them later that night.

"High of seventy-five, water temperature sixty. Bit on the cool side, wouldn't you think?" Ron said.

"For swimming, yeah. Not as cold as that pool we found on our last camping trip."

"Yeah. I sure didn't need a cold shower after a dunk in that."

"How often do you need a cold shower?" Kim asked coquettishly.

"Somehow I think if we didn't take our little detour last night I would have needed one. You're right about this place. It's not that different than the park back home, yet every time we're here it's like romance on steroids. Just to think, we were seriously entertaining the idea of going ahead and getting married."

"Ron, that was really a serious discussion. The romance may have lead to it, but that was something we really had to decide for ourselves."

A door opened in the hall. Nana clearly was not a morning person, and being up past midnight waiting for the two of them to come in like they were a pair of fifteen year-olds breaking their curfew didn't help matters.

Kim jumped up and run up to her, giving her a big hug "Merry Christmas, Nana!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, dear, and Happy Hanukkah to you, Ronald, though I know that's already over with."

"Merry Christmas." He responded.

"This reminds me of the first Christmas James and Anne spent with me, except for the fact it was right after they got married and I only lived across town from them." She laughed softly as she took a seat on the sofa beside Ron. "All except the two of you seem a little better behaved."

"Better behaved?" Kim sat down on the opposite side.

"Oh yes. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. I swear, I thought Jonathan was going to have a stroke that morning."

Kim started getting an inkling where the conversation may be headed and her cheeks responded in kind. Ron must have guessed it as well, quickly moving to change the subject. "What was Kim's grandfather like? I can't believe I never got the chance to meet him."

Nana seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I think Jonathan would have liked you."

"I feel a 'but' coming on." Kim said a little pensively.

The older woman nodded. "One of the reasons you and your brothers only saw us at the holidays when he was living was because of your father. I'm afraid he didn't always see quite eye-to-eye with Jonathan, especially when it came to your mother. You see, he was raised in a quite strict Lutheran family, and Anne was a Catholic until she married James. Of course, she converted and joined his church before they got married, but that never sat quite well with Jonathan and that led to some bad blood. I'm afraid he might have made an issue about Ronald being Jewish."

Kim sagged a little, remembering her encounter with Ron's family back at Thanksgiving. She knew all too well how intolerant people could be at times. Nana gently took her granddaughter's hand. "All that aside, he absolutely loved you kids and I do think it is a shame he never got to know Ronald." She turned and looked at him. "Don't think for an instant I feel there is any problem with you two getting married. Kimberly loves you and that's all that matters to me."

She went on. "Jonathan was a big man, much bigger than either of my two boys. He looked a lot like Kimberly's brothers, and judging from the look of them, I'm willing to bet they're going to be big just like him. I met him right after high school, just as I joined the Navy. He was a government man and I didn't know exactly what he did for them until we had been married several years. I found out later that he played a big role in a lot of the missions I ended up on. See, he was what we called a 'spook' back then. While I served our country in a much more open way as a pilot and as part of the underwater demolitions team, he served in ways that had to remain behind the scenes."

She got up, carefully walking across the room to the Christmas tree, taking her time as it was apparent her hip was giving her trouble that morning. For the first time the noticed several gifts had appeared under the tree.

"I was going to give you these last night, but it was so late when the two of you came back from church I thought it best to head on to bed. I was so proud of you two, I thought you were just out to sneak around. It made me so happy that you were actually doing something proper." She sat back down between them, putting a present on each of their laps. "Go ahead, open them."

Kim carefully pulled the bow and ribbon off her box. It was a large, flat box of the type clothing would come in. Instead of ripping it open, she carefully picked the tape apart, slowly revealing the white box underneath. Her mouth dropped open when she pulled the top off.

It was a uniform. There were still lieutenant's bars on the lapel of the tan blouse, with the name "Possible" stitched on the breast. She pulled the top out carefully, respectfully holding it up.

"Nana?"

"That was my last uniform. I resigned my commission when I learned I was pregnant with your father. I want you to have it now."

Kim lowered it back into the box and wrapped her arms around her grandmother, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

Ron already had his gift open. It was a much smaller box, but he was rendered speechless about what he found inside.

It was all quite old, just like the uniform, but it had not been Nana's. There was a gold watch, some letters and another item that looked like a watch, but instead of being a time piece it had a grid on the large face, with small dials on the side. It looked for all the world like an ancestor of Kim's new wrist Kimmunicator. He pulled that out first, examining it closely.

"I don't think it works any more, but that was Jonathan's. He wore that on missions sometimes. It did not have the range of Kimberly's little radio thing, but it was way beyond it's time. Sometimes he would hint that it contained advanced technology that had been taken from UFOs, but he was known to kid about that kind of thing."

The box titled to the side slightly as Kim looked at the old wrist communicator. She almost wished she had her handheld with her, but that would mean disturbing Wade to run a scan on the old device. Burning curiosity would have to wait, at least for the time being.

Something small rolled out from under the letters. At first Ron didn't notice as he glanced over the hand written notes. Then the sparkle caught his eyes. Gingerly, he picked the smallest object up, holding it up in the morning light streaming through the windows.

It was a simple gold ring.

Kim caught sight of it and almost dropped the communicator. "Nana, is that Grandpa's ring?"

"Yes dear. When he got sick his hands started swelling, so he wasn't able to wear it any more. I meant to have him buried with it, but somehow I forgot it. I didn't find it again until I moved down here. Now I want the two of you to have it. Somehow I think Jonathan would approve."

Kim took the old wedding band as tears started down her cheeks again. When she was just a tiny girl, she would sometimes pull it off her grandfather's hand. It was a large ring, made of white gold, though it completely unadorned. It was big enough that Ron would likely be able to wear it without having it sized.

"If Ronald wears that when the two of you get married, it will be like a part of Jonathan lives on with you. He loved you so much Kimberly. You will wear it, won't you, Ronald?"

"I'd be honored, Nana."

"Well, what are you waiting for, try it on." She prompted.

Ron took it back from Kim, though he hesitated slightly. "I dunno, it doesn't seem proper, at least until…"

"Oh, it's not like you're going to be wearing it all the time. Just try it for size. I know it doesn't mean the two of you are married until the pastor says so."

"Well, the Rabbi. I can't imagine not having Rabbi Katz perform the ceremony." Kim said.

"Gerry? He's still the Rabbi there? He's a good man. All the same, just try it on, Ronald."

He slipped the ring on, marveling at it for a moment. He had dreams where he already had a gold band on his finger, dreams of his future with Kim. Wearing it seemed to bring all those dreams to life for just a moment.

"It fits." He said, holding his hand up for the two women to see.

Nana's smile was huge. She seemed lost in the past for just a moment. "I'm so glad. It's just like it was made for you. You know, you're not that much different from him, well, you are a lot smaller overall…"

"…but he had such big hands."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	38. Part XXXVIII – Let the Festivities Comme

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXVIII – Let the Festivities Commence**

* * *

The moment Kim got up that morning, she knew something was wrong. What was worse, she knew exactly what the problem was and that there really wasn't anything she could do about it. Oh, a little bit of it could have been the extended tickle fight she had with Ron the afternoon before. It could have been the chili-dogs they shared at Muddrakker's. Only, she knew better.

Kim pretty much went through puberty right as her 'real' missions got under way. True, she never 'blossomed' much body-wise, but other womanly issues began at that time as well. With those issues came certain problems her mother came to associate with her rather adventurous lifestyle. All the odd hours, strange foods, pushing her body to its limits over and over again, they did take their toll.

The solution that Anne Possible finally found for her daughter, with the advice of the gynecologist she started going to annually, was to put her on birth control pills, not as a license for sex, but to afford her some degree of control over her cycle. To the greater extent, that seemed to work. She went from going three weeks some times, to six weeks other times, with all sorts of physiological and emotional problems thrown in with her out of whack hormones, to an almost precise cycle running every twenty-eight days.

The results, as far as she was concerned, were perfect. They gave her precisely what she wanted in all aspects of her life; control. There was also the added benefit of clearing up a slight acne problem she developed in her early teens. In her own words: Spankin!

However, nothing in the world is ever absolutely perfect. Roughly every three or four months things didn't go as smoothly as she preferred. Oh, it would still come off like clockwork, but some of the other problems would crop up. She would catch herself biting somebody's head off for no good reason, or she would start tearing up watching an action movie with Ron. Sometimes there would be headaches, others there would be cramping.

That was what she woke up with that fine Sunday morning. There was also a certain amount of tweak directed at Ron as well. This was the week they all went to church together, something they had resolved to do whenever they didn't have a mission to go on, just as on opposite weeks she would go to Temple with Ron. Lately they had taken to spending the night with each other so they could all ride as one big family without making a stop to pick anyone up. There was also the fact that they had gone on their usual Saturday night date and Kim was feeling a bit romantic and a night of cuddling would have been just the thing to make her feel better.

She was tweaked with Ron because she knew he knew better. If there was anyone in the world who could sense an impending KP-PMS event, it was he. The functioning logical side of her mind couldn't blame him. He didn't like strife, especially between them, but the more emotional side of her mind wanted to rip him a new one for being such a weenie. Wasn't it his place as her man to stand and take it so he would be in place to offer emotional support when she needed it?

Well, there would be no escape that night. They would all be up well past midnight watching the ball drop. The year before they ended up spending the whole night on the sofa. That wasn't going to happen. She would simply take him up to her room and that was going to be it. She was not going to be denied her cuddle time!

Grumbling, she slipped out of her 'Ron-shirt' and into a bath robe and headed down the stairs. At least she could take some over-the-counter medicine that would help with the cramps, if not the foul mood she was in. Again the logical side of her brain tried telling her that Ron would certainly not want to be witness to her about that moment, but the other side just reared itself asking what exactly was he going to do once they got married, or if they ended up living together before that? Was he going to have his own little special room where he could run and hide during the period before her period?

She opened the drawer and pulled out the little blue box. There were also tubes of antibiotic ointment, some rolls of bandage tape and a bottle of ibuprofen in there, all things she normally had to use in her day-to-day life. She really didn't like taking medications like this, despite the proven benefits of her other daily meds, but sometimes nature needed a little helping hand from science.

The silver and white bubble cards dropped out into her hands. She looked at the first and tossed it into the trash, then at the other…

…all empty.

With a growl she threw the rest of them into the little waste bin and stomped out of her bathroom. She knocked on her parent's door. "Mom?"

"Come on in, Kimmie." Her mother was just in the process of getting out a dress to wear to church. They normally went to the early service, hitting a restaurant for brunch afterwards, allowing everyone a little bit of extra sleep time.

"Mom, do you have any of that cramping medicine I use?"

"Is it bad, Honey?" The simple fact Kim was actually asking for medicine sent up plenty of warning flags. She wouldn't even take an aspirin unless she was near to being taken to the emergency room.

"Just enough to be annoying, plus Ron forgot that I asked him to pick me up some while he was at Smarty Mart the other day."

She tried to hide her wince. That was not good, not good at all for Ron's well being over the next couple days, especially considering New Years Eve was shaping up as a traditional Kim and Ron time. "Oh, I'm sure he just forgot, but sorry, I don't have any. I've got some Ibuprofen."

"No thanks, I've got some of that." Kim muttered incoherently as she went back to her bathroom. At least the hot shower made her feel somewhat better. She got out, thinking to herself how strange it was that she simultaneously wanted a hug from Ron and wanted to shake him until his noggin rattled.

There was a soft knock at the door, which immediately opened, admitting her mother. "Do you want to just stay home this week?"

"No, Mom, I'm just fine. I took a couple Ibus. Two days from now and I'll be just fine."

"Okay. We can always stop by the store on the way home." She offered helpfully.

Kim suddenly had the image of her whole family, Ron included, making their way down the feminine hygiene aisle at the grocery store while she picked out the particular items she needed. That is, if Jim and Tim would even be seen with their sister buying cramping medicine, tampons and pads. No, they definitely would not. Her Dad would probably hole up at the magazine rack himself until they were done.

Normally, she would simply go into the store by herself and pay for everything back at the pharmacy counter. Personal stuff for her was, well, personal. There were enough immature and intellectually challenged individuals in the world to make hay over the fact that the famous Kim Possible, teen hero was a woman like any other on the planet.

"No. I'll just make do until later. Thanks anyway."

Oh, she wouldn't be alone on that trip to the store. A certain male was going to learn the price of forgetting when he was told to pick up some things.

* * *

Ron knew he was in trouble.

He knew there were times when he could be especially dense. Spotting the subtle hints that this month was going to be a bad one for Kim wasn't one of them. Then why had he forgotten that she asked him to pick up those few things for her? Maybe it was the fact she had never done so before. That was part of the "Kim Experience" he was still not a part of, and up until she handed him the short list, he thought it would remain like that. He knew Kim needed those sorts of things, but it was something never mentioned. He would just tread lightly around her when the mood swings and other problems hit her and everything would be okay.

Maybe it was something in one of those awful women's magazines she liked. He idly glanced through them from time to time, enjoying the photography, especially some of the ads like the ones for _Alexandria's Confession_, but the articles he caught sometimes made him think the publishers liked talking behind men's backs. He could just imagine an article talking about 'what he would do for you if he really loves you,' suggesting a proper love partner would gladly supply the needed items when asked. Kim really didn't go in for that kind of game, but he had to wonder.

As he made his way to the back of the drug store he was thankful, for once, for being rather innocuous. The last thing he wanted was for somebody to recognize him as he ventured into that mysterious realm of women's products. Like any other red-blooded male in his late teens, he had always studiously avoided even stepping onto that aisle, a habit aided by the fact his mother stopped taking him to the grocery and drug stores when he was little, given his penchant for loading carts with junk food and candy.

The sight of that section, with all its pastel colors and bewildering array of sizes, shapes, applicators and all the other strange sundries associated with them almost did him in. In a panic he checked the list again, fearing it would only list them in general terms. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noted everything was _very_ specific. Any more detail and Kim would have included the UPC codes as well.

It still took him a few more minutes than he was comfortable with finding her supplies. He tried not to read too much into the boxes as he loaded them into his basket. At least the store was completely modern and relied on computerized pricing. He was spared the horror of getting to the front counter and having the clerk call for a price check on a forty count box of something that was normally considered out-of-sight, out-of-mind in his book.

He checked his watch. Since he borrowed his mother's car, he had a little time to kill before he had to drive over to Kim's house. He even considered calling her and saying he'd meet her at church, but that didn't sit quite well with him so he started towards the front. That's when a certain section caught his eye.

Ron never considered the things very much. Before his relationship with Kim he wondered if he would ever actually need them and only kept their existence in the back of his mind. He remembered being embarrassed nearly to tears when, on the night of his first official real date with her the day after their Junior Prom, his father took him aside and gave him one to put in his wallet. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would actually need it then and that had been borne out over the time they had been together, but it was still there.

He almost died when Kim found it, but as it turned out she only got a little laugh out of it when he explained its origin. She put it back without any further comment.

Still, he had no idea there was such a wide variety available. He found himself reading the front of the packages. One in particular caught his eye.

"Extra large?" He squinted at the package, which was in a special display made to hinder theft. "Somebody must have a really good opinion of themselves to buy that." He muttered, half to himself, half to Rufus, who was smacking his lips at a display of crunchy snacks hanging nearby.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He could sense the looming presence even before he saw him. Slowly turning around, he came face-to-face with Steve Barkin, who, despite his protest that he never did so, was leaning over Ron's shoulder as if he were trying to see what interested the younger man so much.

"Picking up some supplies for tonight, Stoppable?"

His heart jumped into his throat. Too many years of being under the older man's watchful gaze at school left a lasting impression on what their relationship was supposed to be. In an instant, the fact he was an adult, a college student and engaged to be married to Kim was stripped away and he was once again standing in front of one of the people he least wanted thinking he needed such things.

Almost as if it were a shield, he held up his basket of selections in front of him. "I, uh, was just picking up some things for Kim."

Barkin looked in the basket, then smiled broadly. "You're a good man, Stoppable. I sure wouldn't be caught dead buying that sort of thing." He wandered off with his own basket, chuckling slightly to himself.

Ron couldn't get to the checkout fast enough.

* * *

Anne looked at the young man working with her in the kitchen, getting the snacks ready for the evening's festivities. He had done something that morning she thought was an actual impossibility for any male. It certainly had its intended effect on Kim. She went from muttering to herself and generally acting cranky to cooing all over her fiancé after the services that morning. He had practically dodged a bullet.

He was busy putting together a home-made cheese ball. Normally it would be just as simple to pick up one pre-made, but he wanted to use fresh ingredients, such as freshly chopped almonds instead of having them for a mushy crust on the outside. Good as he was, his job was complicated by a certain little pink rodent who could consume the cheese as fast as he could grate it.

He rolled the finished product in the nuts and put it on a plate with a spreading knife and a selection of crackers. She certainly hoped Rufus would behave himself long enough so the rest of them could enjoy Ron's creation. For the moment he was contenting himself on the remains of the cheddar block he had been working with earlier.

James watched as he carried the platter into the family room, where Kim and the twins were already busy watching some of the early evening programs. They would start out watching the ball drop on the East Coast, which was still just over an hour off yet, but for the better part of the evening they would all be glued to the television. There were some open-air festivities planned for downtown Middleton, but a cold drizzle had been falling for hours, putting a damper on any plans along those lines.

"I take it that Ronald isn't likely to go home tonight, is he?"

"No, and I strongly suspect, if they don't fall asleep on the sofa again, he won't be using the guest room either. Are you certain you're okay with that?"

He looked pensive for a moment. "Honestly? Not one hundred percent, but we've been down this road too many times and it's not about trusting them to make good decisions any more. After all, I am the one who gave my blessing for them to get married."

"Good man. I really don't think she's quite ready to give me a run for my money on my lung power."

"Anne!"

"I'm kidding, James. So, what brings this up? You usually just try to look the other way when they want to spend the night together."

"Well, I was thinking. We have a couple bottles of sparkling wine chilling and I know they're still technically not old enough."

Anne considered that. Neither of the kids had ever displayed any taste for alcohol. Kim was outright disgusted with the taste of beer, but she also knew the Stoppables were prone to serve a glass of wine with dinner, especially now that Kim ate with them much more often.

"I'm sure, if they want some, a glass wouldn't hurt them at midnight. You're just thinking that if he does have some, he needs to stay here anyway, aren't you."

He nodded. "Since he's staying anyway. When I was eighteen I was able to actually go out and buy a bottle, though I didn't know what I was doing and ended up with something that wasn't even fit to cook with."

"Just so long as it's one glass and none at all for the twins." She countered.

"Already have that covered." He produced a bottle of sparkling white grape juice, which was what they traditionally served the kids.

"Well, leave it in the fridge until later." She wrapped both arms around his waist. "I can think of a good use for that second bottle after midnight. Do some ringing in the new year of our own."

"Why, Miss Credible, are you suggesting I get you tipsy and have my way with you?"

She grinned at him. "I'm not suggesting anything, I'm telling you to, bad boy."

He turned around in her arms and gave her a little kiss. "What is it with this family and bossy red-heads?" he teased.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	39. Part XXXIX – Sparkling

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XXXIX – Sparkling **

* * *

Ron spent the better part of the day on pins and needles. The look Kim gave him as she let him in the door that morning told him everything he needed to know. They only thing that was going to let him live to see two thousand seven was in the bag he was toting. In fact, he didn't even speak a word or attempt a quick good-morning kiss, but meekly handed the bag over to her. She took one look in the bag, gave him a glance that said 'you better have' and disappeared upstairs.

When she came back down she wrapped her arms around him and attempted to transfer as much of her lipstick as she could to him. He had earned himself a welcome respite, but he was not dumb, he knew it would only be temporary.

He sat on her bed late that morning after they had come back from brunch, his hand clamped over his eyes even though she was behind her changing screen taking off her new navy dress. "So, KP, what do you want to do today? It's not supposed to start raining until dark. There's that new indoor pool, or that horse farm out on the interstate. We could go swimming, we could go horseback riding…"

About the moment the words spilled out if his mouth, he realized he was sounding just like an old commercial. If Kim noticed, she didn't care. Her mood had swung one hundred eighty degrees from when she answered the door that morning. She was actually humming tunelessly as she slipped into her favored winter clothing of a deep teal shirt and black slacks. She opted for the baggier ones, though she still slipped on her black canvas sneakers.

"I was thinking more of taking in a matinee at the cheapie theater. They're still running that pirate movie you were so gung ho to see back in the summer."

"I dunno. That's supposed to be out on DVD in a couple weeks."

Kim stepped out from behind the screen, buttoning her pants. She sat down beside Ron and kissed him. She lingered there a couple minutes, though her hands were occupied holding her shoes. "Ronnie, I don't really care which movie it is. I just want to spend some time holding hands, sharing popcorn, smooching, know what I mean?" She set her shoes down beside her on the bed and pulled at his tie. "Now, we could stay here and do all that, but I'm willing to bet we'd have Daddy looking over our shoulders the whole time."

"We could always go to my house and watch the first movie." He offered.

Kim grinned back at him. The only DVD player in his house was built into his computer, meaning they would have to sit on his bed watching the tiny seventeen inch screen, listening to his itty bitty speakers while a movie that should at least be seen in high definition widescreen with half decent speaker played. Of course, if she really meant what she did about her intentions, they really wouldn't care so much about how big the screen was.

Something went click in his head and he mentally beat his forehead on a pretend table-top. _Danger, Ron Stoppable, Danger_ a glass-domed robot warned him in the back of his mind. She wants to go see a movie holding your hand and sharing a tub of popcorn. Do it you idiot! Kim liked the private time stuff as much as he did, but she also liked some more innocent romance sometimes. He had to admit there was something downright fun about just simply kissing in the back of a dark, nearly empty theater.

Of course, they had to be careful about which movie they went to, if that was their intention. Neither of them were too excited about the computer generated cars earlier that year, but they went anyway since it was the only thing playing on casual date night they felt was worth watching, figuring if it was boring they could spend the evening putting Kim's latest, so-called Kiss-Proof lipstick to the test. It turned out the average age of the audience was hovering around nine or ten and the place was packed. With a little boy to one side and a tween in questionable clothing to the other it was most def not a night for making out. Fortunately, the movie turned out far better than each of them hoped and they renewed their knowledge of just how good it felt to simply hold hands.

When they started getting more physical, Ron thought it would be all that, all the time. He had the notion that all of the things that had come before; holding hands, hands around each other's shoulders, things like that were merely place holders for the other things, that they would then simply skip to what for them was their current 'main event.' It took a couple miscues during their dates to discover that wasn't actually the case. Just because they had been down that particular road a couple times didn't mean that was what she wanted every time they were together. He also had to remember once more that, because of Kim's personality, she pretty much took the lead, even though she sometimes complained about that very issue.

Kim finished tying he shoes and turned her attention back to him. Smiling sweetly she walked her fingers up his chest, again playing with the knot of his tie. "So, what do you want to do today?"

He smiled shakily. "Whatever you want to do."

"Okay, Joss. Now, what do you really want to do?"

"Well, this is going to sound strange, at least coming from me."

Kim sat up, putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. "Oh, you've got me intrigued. What strange thing can Mister Never-be-normal have in mind? It's not something kinky, is it?"

Ron glanced over her shoulder, certain that the mere use of the word 'kinky' meant that her Dad was about to put in an appearance at her hatch, having overheard it and demanding and explanation. Fortunately, for once, he didn't.

"See, ever since you had that little tiff with Doctor Director, the only real missions we've been on have been, well, forgettable."

"Ron, those people still needed our help. So we didn't have to fight some villain, by the end of the day we still did good. What are you saying, that we need to go on a mission?"

"Yeah, I know, the next words out of your mouth are going to be 'careful what you wish for,' but yeah, I want a good old fashioned Wade beeps us, we change into our gear, we hop on some rickety plane or even a hot air balloon and we go make short work of the bad guys. I mean, the only time either of our Kimmunicators went off while we were down in Florida was Wade calling to wish us merry Christmas. In the old days, the moment Nana put the presents on our laps we would have gotten the call."

"Okay, yes, I'm gonna say it, Ron. Be careful what you wish for. When we go on that kind of mission it's not because we're out to have a big, fun adventure, it's because somebody somewhere is doing something dangerous, something that could hurt other people if we didn't do anything about it. If you want adventure, we can always ride out to the airport. Half the pilots out there would be more than willing to take us up for some sky-diving. For that matter, we could ride up to Mount Middleton and actually spend most of our time skiing. You could always try following me down a black diamond run. Or, if you really want some horror, we could head over to your house and ask Gene for some pointers on our wedding night."

"Ack!" Ron absolutely knew she was kidding with the last one, but the thought was still just too terrible to comprehend. It was bad enough when his father insisted he put that one particular item in his wallet. It was just as bad when he occasionally asked if it needed replacing.

Kim started pulling at his knot, undoing his tie. "I know, if you want to go on a mission, we could always lock my doors and, you know."

"KP, I thought we talked about that."

"We did. Not like we'd get the chance to go through with it. That would just force the issue and a mission would interrupt."

Ron got the joke and started laughing. "Except, I bet it wouldn't work unless we were actually willing and meaning to do that. I don't think pretending counts."

"Probably not." She got up and pulled a Club Banana bag out of the closet. "Here, I got this while I was out shopping with Monique."

He peeked in the bag. He had seen it sitting there before and figured it was just more of Kim's usual clothes. Instead it turned out to be a nice deep teal sweater, with a shallow v-neck, plus a pair of black cargo pants to go with it.

"That's all I could find that would match that had room for Rufus in it." She nodded toward him, all curled up on her pillow, still sleeping off his extended waking time the day before.

"I don't have to wear a choker with this? Do I?" He held the sweater up to his chest. Obviously Kim wanted another 'dressing-alike' option besides both of them wearing his old, battered red jerseys. All four of them, including the one that had been altered to fit her, were starting to finally get a bit threadbare.

She leaned on his upper thighs and brushed the tip of his nose with hers. "While I have you in the throes of 'he'll do anything because he's scared I've really got PMS' I bet you would if I said yes." She smiled broadly at him. "No, Ronnie, I'm not wearing mine today either. I feel a little too puffy to be wearing something called a choker today anyway. Now, get changed. I'm going to run downstairs and switch the cars around so we can take mine."

The movie turned out to be just what they were hoping for. The theater was the older one near the mall. After a couple of the big 'stadium style' theaters opened it had converted to a cheaper, second-run venue rather than go to the expense of tearing out the insides. They had already seen the movie three times, so during the slower parts they tended to spend their time paying attention to each other instead of the screen.

Not long after they got back to Kim's house, the pendulum started swinging the other way. Actually, it started in the theater parking lot when Ron asked to drive. In his mind, he wanted to be in a position where Kim could cuddle his arm while he drove, much like she used to when they had to rely on his mother's old Pontiac. She didn't take it quite that way and growled slightly when he reached for the driver's side door.

"I think you did enough driving during our vacation." She brushed past him and slipped into the driver's seat, activating the power and the synthetic engine sounds.

"Aw, come on KP."

"No, Ron. It's my car, I drive it, Okay. Maybe it's about time you got another one since you didn't want to spend any money getting your last one fixed."

"Hey, you said it yourself. I paid three hundred for that car, then twice that keeping it running for as long as it did. I could buy ten times as much car for what they said it was going to cost to fix it."

"Then why haven't you gone and bought one? You seem to have so much more money in your allowance these days, if you saved some of that we wouldn't have to take mine so much."

"Okay, never mind." He shut up and got in the car, glancing at the fancy ring on her left hand as she backed out of the parking space. That alone had completely decimated his savings and he was just then starting to recover from that. He was just wise enough to keep the fact that he was the only one between them with any real kind of income to himself. He was more than wise enough not to mention the second engagement ring. Kim may well have been just as happy to go all the way to their wedding with the tiny original one, but that wasn't what was on his mind when he went to purchase it. She certainly didn't complain.

Back home Kim settled in to spend the afternoon reading magazines. He sat quietly with her, occasionally bumping his sock-clad foot up against hers. That seemed to mollify her mood just enough that she slipped her own shoes off and engaged in a little innocent footsie with him. Still, she managed to bounce from mood to mood throughout most of the afternoon, into dinner. He almost suggested she might need another of the pills he brought that morning, but bit his tongue. The only real safe course of action was to hope that her mother would suggest the same course of action.

Not long after the east coast ball-drop Kim headed upstairs, returning in her long pajamas. She had the top open, but that was because she was wearing her old purple halter top with the green heart under it. She curled up next to him and whispered in his ear.

"Why don't you run on upstairs and put on yours. I really don't think I'm going to make it much past midnight, so once the ball drops we can go on to bed and get some sleep."

"Sure KP." He figured it was a pretty good idea. The year before they ended up sleeping in their party clothes, but since there were no other guests this time around there was utterly no reason they couldn't all get comfortable.

He was coming back down the stairs when he heard the first pop. Being familiar with that sort of thing, he immediately knew it was Kim's Dad opening a bottle of champagne. It was kind of odd to him how his mind had changed when the subject of alcohol came up. When he was in his mid-teens he often thought by college he would have discovered beer. So far, from what he had sampled, he wasn't overly impressed with any of it, though some of the imports, like the one Mr. Dr. P favored, was somewhat palatable, but the domestics just plain tasted awful. Wine he could tolerate, though he found he would rather buy a whole case of pop than spend that much money on 750ml of something that he just didn't get what the big deal was. He knew that attitude would have to change if he were to pursue his intended career, but for himself, he could take or leave it.

His only experience with the harder stuff was only second-hand, and figuratively speaking, it left a bad taste in his mouth. He was thinking of the party they had gone to early in their last year of high school where Kim's drink ended up getting spiked, making her sick-drunk. At that moment, he decided adult beverages were best left alone. Since he really didn't like them all that much, what was the point other than getting drunk, which, given what he had seen, wasn't very appealing in its own right.

Ron was surprised when he sat back down with Kim that a glass of light amber bubbling liquid had been placed in front of his spot on the couch. She already had her own and was taking a couple tentative sips from it, as if she was trying to decide if she liked it as well.

"Guess this means we're not sitting at the kids table any more, baby." She whispered as he eyed his own glass.

He sighed, pursing his lips. Wrinkling his nose, he tried a sip for himself. It was dry and, to his palette, rather bitter. He found he would much rather have had the more brightly colored white grape juice the twins had in their wine glasses.

"Hmmm. Not really my thing, Kimbo."

She took a bigger sip of hers. "It's not so bad. Like they say, it's an acquired taste."

"I'll take _their_ word for it." He set the glass back down on its coaster and spread a big hunk of cheese ball onto a pair of wheat crackers, handing one to Rufus who gobbled it down in just a couple bites.

"Do we really have to watch Leno?" he groused.

"Sorry, the other channel has Clark, and he's still not at his best, I'm afraid to say. Did you know his doctor conferred with Mom last year?"

"I remember you saying something about that." He glanced over at the big easy chair at the other end of the couch. Anne Possible was sitting on her husband's lap, nursing the last swallow of her own drink. She downed the last of it and got up, heading to the kitchen. She returned with the bottle, refilling everyone's glass save Ron's, which was still mostly full.

The last half hour leading to midnight passed rather slowly. James got up and opened the other bottle and made the rounds with it. Ron was dozing slightly, so he didn't notice that his glass had somehow been emptied. They were getting ready to toast the new year, so they all needed something in their glass. Kim got up herself and topped her glass with a couple minutes to go.

"Five, four, three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

All six of them clinked their glasses together and everyone but Ron drained their glasses. Kim's parents were obviously quite into each other and quickly said their goodnights, heading up the stairs. Jim and Tim disappeared outside and joined the rising cacophony of fireworks going off all around the neighborhood, leaving the two of them alone on the couch.

Kim looked at him, her green eyes glittering in the dim light of the television. She put her empty glass down and took Ron's from him, taking a big swallow of it. "Happy new year, Ronnie."

"Happy new year to you, KP."

"Don't I get a new year's kiss?"

"How silly of me." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for the kiss. She gave into it hungrily, pulling him down partially on top of her. Finally, as the sound of firecrackers reached a new crescendo, she broke it and smiled warmly at him.

"Told you there would be fireworks." She whispered. "Come on, time for bed." She got up, pulling him with her.

"I'm not quite ready to say goodnight. Maybe if we dozed off down here nobody would notice."

Her smile turned decidedly more wicked. "Didn't say we were saying goodnight, just that we were going to bed. I thought I'd have a little bigger Cuddlebuddy than Pandaroo tonight." She licked her lips, wrapping her arms around him again, pulling their hips together.

"You sure that's okay? I mean, your Dad doesn't mind if I stay in the guest room."

"Shhhhh. They're already gone to bed and I don't think they're going to be getting up any time soon, if you know what I mean."

"Okay, TMI."

"I think they have the right idea."

Ron was about to say something when Kim picked up her glass and drained the last of it. Light bulbs went off in his head. He had exactly two sips of the bitter tasting liquid himself, but Kim could have had a total of at least four glasses full. The two champagne bottles sat empty on the coffee table, shared, for the most part, between three people.

"Okay, but let's get some sleep. It's been a long day."

Kim giggled, leading him toward the stairs. "And it's going to be a long night." She said musically.

Ron let out a long breath, not quite sure what he was going to do. On one hand, he could simply refuse and after kissing her goodnight, just head down to the guest room. On the other, that would likely upset her, and even if she was only slightly tipsy, she was still prone to mood swings. He could hold her like she wanted and still do the honorable thing. He knew that anything more would be taking advantage and to him that was probably one of the worst things he could do.

He just wished he knew how inebriated she really was. He also wished he had noticed her not only getting refills of her own glass, but of his. It was the first time they had ever had drinks like that with permission and he was completely shocked at how she had reacted to it. In the morning, after she had recovered, they were going to have a long, long talk, probably in the company of her parents. If there was any potential for a future problem, he wanted to head it off before it could blossom into something worse.

Stopping at her hatch, he closed and latched it. They had spent the night together in her room on several occasions, but over time, with other options like his own home or trips away, they had never pressed the issue considering her father's usual disapproval.

He turned around just in time to be hit in the face with Kim's pajama bottoms. He glanced over at her, sitting sexily on the bed, her legs tucked under her. Much to his relief, she still had her underwear on.

As gingerly as he could, he sat down on 'his' side of the bed. Kim wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. He was about to say something when, thankfully, she started snoring. Gently he laid her down on her side and pulled the covers up.

He lay on his back for close to an hour, thinking, before sleep claimed him as well.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	40. Part XL – Déjà vu All Over Again

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XL – Déjà vu All Over Again.**

* * *

_Gorchy._

Kim wasn't sure if that was an actual word, or just something that had spilled out of her fertile mind when she was younger to describe something that tasted terrible. The first time she could remember using it was to describe her own attempts at cooking when she was around ten. It was a good word, nice, short, harsh and full of the emotion it was supposed to express. It would often leap past her tongue, right over whatever vile concoction elicited such a response.

When Kim's eyes snapped open in the dead of the night, that was not only how her mouth tasted, but how she felt all over.

There was something distinctly familiar about how she felt, and not all of it had to do with the fact she was dressed only in her halter sleep-top and a pair of bikini cut panties instead of the long silk pajamas she remembered putting on earlier the evening before. The fact the room was cool and she couldn't remember taking them off bothered her. That feeling got even worse when she realized Ron was sound asleep beside her. His presence wasn't what caused her concern. She meant to have him there pretty much all day. Certainly he hadn't undressed her like that? Sure, he could be a little 'touchy' in his sleep, but he had never done anything untoward without her knowledge.

The worst of her condition, beyond the horrible, almost vomitous taste in her mouth, was how her gut was churning. It was a rather distinct combination of her usual pre-menstrual symptoms and nausea, two sensations that, fortunately, in the past had been mutually exclusive.

She relaxed a little bit as her eyes adjusted to the light. The moon was up and not very far from being full, so it was fairly easy to see. Ron was in the bed with her, but by some unusual happenstance, he was isolated on his side of the bed. In fact, he was only under the comforter, using the sheet to separate him from her. That was highly unusual for him, considering he hadn't actually done that since before they were a couple and were forced to share a bed.

That's when the waning hours of two thousand six started coming back to her.

There was a very good reason she felt the way she did. She had way too much of the sparkling wine (it was from California, and not France and she knew that it technically could not be called champagne.) When her father handed her the glass while Ron was upstairs changing, he told her she could have one or two glasses and even then, neither of them were going to be driving anywhere themselves until after lunch time the next day. By the time she woke up in the early hours, she realized even that would probably not be in the offing for that day.

She remembered tasting the drink and finding that, unlike beer, she actually liked the stuff. Maybe it was somehow related to the fact she liked her coffee straight and black, no sugar, no cream, nothing but the hot brew itself. The wine was very dry, but she could discern the taste of it. The first glass was gone in short order and she didn't protest when it was refilled.

Then she noticed Ron wasn't drinking his. He had a habit of drinking perhaps two swallows of wine when his parents served it, so she pretty much figured he wouldn't be into the sparkling stuff either. He liked sweet drinks…very sweet drinks and she would often chide him about whether he actually wanted a little coffee in his cream and sugar, when he drank coffee at all.

Not seeing any harm, figuring sparkling wine wasn't all that strong anyhow, she took his glass after draining her second. By that time she was actually starting to feel the effect, just a little. She felt mellow and happy and just a tad giddy. Kim also noted the effect it was having on her parents. Normally quite reserved in how they displayed their affections in front of their children, they were quite into each other, kissing and cuddling on the easy chair much the way she did with Ron. It was almost like they were behaving under the influence of Moodulators. It was only an appearance, since the devices created and heightened certain emotions. The alcohol only dampened inhibitions.

Kim found it quite pleasant feeling uninhibited toward Ron, and at the same time wished he was sharing in that as well. However, along with the release of her inhibitions came a sharp decline in judgment. She found her glass refilled once more, plus Ron's as well. In all, she estimated she had probably slightly more than half a bottle. At first blush, that really didn't sound like a lot, but combined with her tiny stature and her inexperience with drink, she had more than enough. In fact, she had too much.

The cramping made it uncomfortable for her to lay down, so she sat up in the bed, clutching her stomach. The swimming feeling in her skull was gone, replaced by a headache that was different in placement and nature from the kind she normally experienced at that time of the month. She took cold comfort in the fact that she hadn't had nearly as much as that time at the party and didn't feel like she was going to have to run down to her bathroom and throw up.

"Great way to start the new year, Possible." She muttered to herself, rocking back and forth slightly trying to dull the pain in her abdomen. The nausea created a quandary for her. Should she go downstairs and take some of her medicine? Would she even be able to keep it down? Would it have some untoward effect on her because of some alcohol still lingering in her system?

The feelings got worse as she considered Ron. She could tell he was still completely dressed in his own dark blue pajamas, and if she knew him, he probably had his boxer on under them as well. She glanced about the room and spotted her own night clothes sitting in a heap near her hatch. Had Ron undressed her? That seemed quite unlikely. Were that the case, he would probably be in the same state of dress she was. That meant she must have performed a striptease for him. It was a wonder she still had on what she did. Before her memory got hazy, she clearly recalled how amorous she was felling toward him.

That triggered a memory of the last time she was drunk. She had come on to him pretty strongly then as well, but he immediately realized something was terribly wrong with her, taking her straight home to her parents. As she gathered up the discarded silk garments, she gasped, realizing that Ron had put her to bed, stone cold sober himself, most likely knowing what had happened to her.

Thinking along those lines was like being splashed with a bucket of ice water. She sat down heavily on her blue beanbag chair on the other side of the room, suddenly not wishing to share the bed with him any more that night. What had she done? The time at the party was an accident. No, that was something that was done to her. This time she had done it herself, willingly. The girl who always had to be in control had thrown that very thing out the window.

Sitting back in the chair she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate through the pain in her abdomen. The pressure was the greatest right at the base of her ribcage, spreading to her back. That at least was familiar and even though it was enough to make her completely uncomfortable, that familiarity made it less threatening. In fact, no one particular symptom was terribly bad by itself. No, the worst of it was in her mind.

What was she thinking? There was a very good reason it was illegal for her to buy such drinks, even though she was technically an adult. But that wasn't the real problem. The problem was what Ron must have thought at he put her to bed. She could just picture the scene, her stripping down to her underwear, perhaps intending to go further, with him trying to stop her without triggering the foul mood she had been intermittently displaying throughout the day. She hated when she got like that. He had done absolutely nothing wrong, save being a little later than she expected with the Midol and the tampons. In fact, now that she thought about it, he only made her wait about half an hour from the time she realized she was out of the former.

She sat in the chair, clutching her pajamas and her Pandaroo, wondering if he was worried about her or if he was upset with her. On top of that, she was very upset with herself. Considering what could have happened to her before, she should have been the last person doing something like that.

Outside she could hear the rain falling more steadily. It seemed a lot of the most romantic times she had spent with Ron it was raining outside. There was a sort of comfort that went along with it, especially when they had been parking out on the bluff. How long had it been since they had done that? It seemed kind of pointless now. Still, the rain was like nature's curtain, drawn around them when they wanted that little bit of extra privacy.

She would rather have been in the bed with him. As cool as it was, they would have certainly been either snuggled up face to face, or one would be spooning the other. Instead she was sitting back in her chair, staring at the bed, knowing that even if she were to awaken Ron she would be too uncomfortable to enjoy his touch. _Stupid, stupid little woman._

The cramps slowly subsided, along with the other symptoms she was having. The light sheen of cold sweat evaporated, leaving her feel even more chilled. She almost popped her forehead when she realized she would feel somewhat warmer in her night clothes than just clutching them to her chest. Just as she was buttoning the top, she saw Ron roll toward her and open his eyes.

"KP?"

Kim pursed her lips. She didn't know what to say or what to do. She just looked at him, the picture of utter misery, though physically she was feeling much better than she had a couple hours earlier. It was just about sunrise, but the day was dawning gray and wet from what she could see out her angular topped windows.

He didn't say anything else. He just pulled the covers back from his side and scooted back, making room for her. She sat down and stuck her legs under the covers, letting her backside form against his front. He put his arms around her waist, but didn't put any pressure on her stomach, as if he sensed what she had just gone through in the night.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked out the windows. The clouds obscured the rising sun, so all it did was slowly get lighter outside. _So dawns the new year_, she thought sadly.

With a little effort, considering her still-tender stomach, she twisted around in his arms so she was facing him, carefully keeping her mouth closed in difference to how her breath must be if it tasted so bad. Still, she couldn't contain herself.

"Ronnie?"

"Shhhhh. KP, it ain't time to get up just yet."

"Baby, I need to talk to you."

"Uh-uh. Sorry Kimbo. Like you always say, this isn't the time or the place."

"But…"

"Shhhhh. There's plenty of time for talking tomorrow. Right now it's sleepy time."

Kim sat up a little in the bed. "No, Ron. I want to talk now. I know you're trying to be sweet and all, but I'm not going to be doing any sleeping right now, any more than I have the last couple hours."

Ron sat up in the middle of the bed, then scooted a little further over to her normal side to give her a little more room. He drew his knees up to his chest and sat there, waiting for her to speak.

"Ron, do you think I have a problem?"

He thought about that for a moment. "No. Well, I don't know, actually, but I don't think so."

"I was drunk last night, wasn't I?"

"A little."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"Honestly, KP? It scares me a little. But the reason I don't think you have a problem is because you learn things fast, and I think if you think this is a mistake you'll learn from it."

"But after what happened before…"

He shrugged. "That was different. You didn't have a choice in the matter, so all you really learned then was a little bit of what if felt like to get really, really splattered. This time? I don't think you had that much…"

"Ron, I think I had five whole glasses."

"Wow."

"I…" She was about to say she thought she had blacked out when the Kimmunicator she still had on her wrist went off. Kim quickly checked to make sure her pajamas were intact and hit the accept button.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?"

She yawned visibly. "No, we've been awake for a little bit."

"We? Aren't you at home." Her tech guru asked.

"Hi Wade." Ron held his hand over the pickup and made a little wave.

Wade rolled his eyes upwards and shook his head. "I am so glad your chips are turned off right now."

"Uh huh." Kim replied. "So are we. What's up? If you're just calling to wish us a happy new year then I'm going to march right over there in my pajamas and kick your butt myself, if I don't have to pull Ron off you first." That wasn't too hard to imagine. They were in the summer between junior and senior years when they found out that Wade's house could be seen from her window.

"Right. I just got word that Dementor is on the move."

Kim rubbed her temples. "Please tell me he's not after the Vortex Inducer again."

"Uhhhhh." Wade looked away from the screen.

"Wade!"

"I'm just kidding. No, it's not the Pan Dimensional Vortex Inducer this time. He's up to his old tricks with power absorption again. He just raided a top-secret lab and stole a device that can create a damping field around a nuclear reactor, siphoning the energy off without releasing any radiation."

"Okay, Wade. We're on it. What's the ride sitch?"

"I take it we're still not on speaking terms with GJ?" he asked.

"So not."

"Well, can the two of you…"

"Wade." She cut him off. "Right now I'm really not up to providing transpo. We'll take what you can get."

"Got it. I'll have a ride to your front door in fifteen."

Kim looked at Ron, then back at her friend. "Make it thirty. I'm so going to take a shower first."

As Wade signed off, she dragged Ron along behind her. They may not have had a chance to do any making out or cuddling the night before, but she was going to take five minutes and have him scrub her back, regardless of whether her parents happened to be up and about.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	41. Part XLI – Alone Together

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLI – Alone Together**

* * *

Sleeping with Kim was getting to be a very pleasant distraction, considering it happened more and more often. Of course, there had always been the opportunities during missions, but most of the time he was relegated to sleeping in a completely different room. Of course, that was still okay, since that was his lot in life, but when he did have the chance he relished it. There were all sorts of interesting places on her where he could rest his heat, plus she smelled nice, especially her hair. He could curl in close proximity to it and just breath it in. Even after she switched from that lavender shampoo to one that was supposed to be mangos and mandarin oranges, he still loved to just lay there and take it all in.

Of course, all too often he got not only kicked out of the bed, but out of the room as well by an irate male, much to his consternation. Oh, he didn't show his disappointment, except for a very brief scowl, but it was always a very temporary thing. Very soon everyone would be asleep and he would sneak back in so he could curl up in her feminine warmth. He was actually starting to wonder exactly why he was always being kicked out. Kim seemed to want him there and it always appeared to him that if Kim wants it, Kim gets it.

Rufus was sometimes confused by 'his humans.' In his mind, they had become mates some time ago, at that dance in late spring. Another spring was rapidly approaching, marking two years since they had been together, yet in all that time, with all the chances they had, they hadn't actually mated. Even though they often sent him elsewhere when they wanted to be alone, he could somehow tell that hadn't quite happened yet, though they danced all around it.

Still, even to his surprisingly perceptive mind, their hesitation was really nothing more than a source of confusion. The way they felt about each other was as clear to him as the difference between night and day, and that was far more important to him as to whether they took steps to ensure their genes were passed down to another generation. He long ago came to the realization that they were only just reaching true adulthood and 'mating' would come soon enough.

Relegating things that confused him to the back of his mind, he concentrated more fully on the here and now. Specifically, that he once again had the opportunity to sleep in close proximity to Kim. In fact, considering it was still pretty much winter, he was quite happy to be comfortably curled up between them in the bed, snuggled right above the stuffed animal that was usually the only thing that separated them.

A belly full of chocolates was plenty to take his mind off the confusion surrounding the mid-winter mating festival that had just taken place. In the past, the angst in the air surrounding the annual event was almost so thick he could cut it with his tiny gray claws. This year it turned out significantly different. The people in the new school his humans were attending didn't seem to put as much stock in the event as they had in their previous one. To that end, neither of them seemed as tense as they had in the past either. There were smiles, kisses, hugs, great food (which, of course, was of paramount importance to him) and a night spent in a strange room curiously close to their homes where they _still_ didn't got through with mating.

Oh well, that didn't seem to affect their happiness in the least. Plus, they sat there in the bed after the kissing and fed him some of the candy that came in the specially shaped box that was associated with the mating festival. Once they had been concerned there might be something in the chocolate that was harmful to him, but that had turned out completely untrue. The only thing chocolate did to him was to fill his stomach and make his mouth happy. It was one of his favorite things to eat, right after cheese. Then, when they cuddled up together they didn't kick him out of the bed. Maybe it was the fact it was the middle of the week and they still had to go to their school the next day. Perhaps it was because they were called on a mission and were tired. Then again they could have been doing exactly what they wanted to do that night and didn't mind his company. That meant they had no intention of fulfilling that day's real fundamental intent, but in the end that was okay. There was a light snow falling outside, the room had a magic fireplace that was fed by gas instead of having to fool with logs and his humans were happy. For those few hours the world was perfect for the little naked mole rat.

When he woke up later, he was alone. It only took a couple seconds to realize what was going on. The sun wasn't even up yet, but aside from the pleasant interlude at the hotel oddly called Middleton Motor Court, they did have a full day ahead of them and had to get up at their usual time, though they apparently were busy engaging in another one of their near-mating recreational activities. He laid his head back down on Kim's stuffed animal and relaxed. That was yet another thing he was usually left out of, especially considering they both liked the water a little too hot for his liking. It was one thing to sit in a hot volcanic spring and relax in the almost scalding water, it was quite another to stand in a shower that way with needles of hot water pounding. He did wish they had the time to spend soaking in the rooms private hot-tub. Unfortunately, they had gotten into their room late and as he had noted, had risen early so that was out of the question.

He was re-awakened from his incredibly comfortable slumber by an all-too-familiar sound. His little head popped up, trying to decide where it was coming from. It rang a second time, meaning neither of his humans had probably heard it yet. The continued sound of the shower and the occasional feminine giggle seemed to reinforce that fact. That left it to him, as the third member of Team Possible's field operatives to answer it.

The first order of business was to find it. Kim had switched back to her hand-held as Wade was upgrading her wrist mounted unit. Using more deductive reasoning than a naked mole rat was supposed to possess, he figured it would be in her pants, or at the very least near them. He was a little put out by her switching to olive colored 'tights' for missions. He liked riding in her pocket just as much as he did Ron's. Ron may have been his primary bond-animal but he could perceive the deeper connection between the two. They were two bodies with one soul from his perspective, so he enjoyed being with either of them equally.

The ringing Kimmunicator was still clipped to her tool belt. Using his paw, he pushed the accept button. Wade popped up immediately and was obviously shocked at who was actually answering.

"Hey, Rufus. Where's Kim?"

He gibbered for a moment, but that was just about useless. It seemed only Ron and, to a lesser degree Kim, could understand his squeaks, even though from his point of view he was speaking extremely clearly. Instead he pantomimed somebody washing. Wade seemed to get that.

"Okay, how about Ron?"

Rufus gave him an expression that seemed to say 'Where do you think,' but went through the pantomime one more time.

Wade's eyes bugged out. Rufus wasn't quite sure why two mate-chosen humans cleaning each other was so upsetting to the younger male. About that moment Kim came out of the bathroom wrapped in a large white towel.

"I thought I heard that going off. What's up, Wade?"

"I just got a hit on the site from you-know-who."

Kim scowled at him as best she could while holding the Kimmunicator with one hand, the towel with the other. "There are at least five people I could think of right off-hand as being you-know-who and I would much rather be drying my hair and getting dressed for class right about now Wade."

"Oh, sorry. It's a call from Global Justice. They said they were a little short-handed and needed your help with a series of high-tech break-ins on the East Coast. They think it might be related to Dementor's scheme."

Rufus had to scowl himself. The last time they tangled with Dementor turned into a wild goose chase. The diminutive mad scientist had rebuilt his Transportulator, only this time adapting it for use with cell-phones, freeing it from 'land-lines.' They managed to keep him from stealing the Nuclear Reaction Damping Module, but he got away, along with his expensive Henchmen (© Henchco.) Needless to say, Kim was rather tweaked about the whole ordeal. It wounded her pride that, of all the times she had personally gone up against Professor Dementor, she had only captured him once. (She so did not count the time Team Impossible brought him in.)

"Okay, give us a chance to get ready. What's the ride sitch? The flyer up and running yet?" That was another problem with that mission. Wade had a new remote controlled vehicle for them to ride in, only it was really a long way from being ready. He was still getting the bugs out of the advanced drive, so he had to substitute ordinary jet engines for the time being, severely limiting its range and they could hardly hear themselves think, let alone carry on the conversation they intended to during the flight. That talk had to wait until the mission was completely over, adding yet another layer to her tweak. Something had been bothering her then and she wanted to resolve it with her lover. In the end they did, though Rufus could tell both of them seemed oddly worried for almost a week.

"I've got the Ion engines installed in the flyer, but I want to test them a little more before we send it on anything further than the greater Middleton area. I'd sure hate for the engines to fail, especially if you end up over water or an uninhabited area."

"No kidding. So, what's the deal?" Kim hitched up her towel again, trying to impress how uncomfortable she was at the moment.

"As soon as you're ready, just go outside to the sidewalk and you can take a transport tube down to GJ headquarters. They'll provide your transportation. I've already sent word to your professors and they're going to be sending your assignments along."

"Thanks Wade." She signed off and grabbed both of their overnight bags before heading back into the bathroom.

Rufus sighed. He was looking forward to a little breakfast. He checked the heart shaped box, but between the three of them they had pretty much decimated it the night before. There wasn't anything left but dark brown wrappers and a few chocolate crumbs, which he made short work of. Knowing the two of them, they were likely to have hit Bueno Nacho for breakfast since Ron wouldn't have to pay for anything there. He especially lamented the loss of digging through a breakfast Naco.

"Aw man." Ron griped as he emerged from the bathroom in a pair of "Freedom Leaders" boxers Kim had given him for the holiday. "The one time we didn't think to bring along fresh mission clothes."

Kim was already slipping into her turtleneck and zipping the snug pants. "We could always wear the other clothes we have with us." She said as she pulled her black sweater on over the outfit.

Ron laughed slightly. "Not sure how they would take it with us showing up 'out of uniform.'" He slipped his boots on and patted the open cargo pocket on the side of his gray slacks. "Come on, Rufus, duty calls."

He hopped into the proffered pocket, sticking his head out so he could enjoy the ride. He had plenty of sleep by that point and would certainly get lots more if there was a long ride to and from the mission, but he wanted to be awake for the ride down to the headquarters complex. Unlike Ron he loved the fast, gut dropping ride in the pneumatic tubes, plus Doctor Director normally had doughnuts out in the morning when she called them in.

They barely got out onto the sidewalk when a hole opened up under them, sucking them down into the capsule. As usual, Ron screamed even though he must have been expecting it. The sensation was just too much like falling for him and he didn't have a rip cord to pull to arrest that fall.

He was greatly put out by the fact they weren't led to the main control center, instead being shown by an unfamiliar agent directly to the hanger where they climbed onto a waiting hoverjet. Rufus couldn't even pick up the smells of any kind of food along the way, and they were moving too quickly for him to jump out of the pocket and find something. The moment they were onboard he could tell the ship was taking off. That temporarily took his mind off food since it was obvious this was an important mission. Then again, he wasn't a human, he was a naked mole rat possessed of a huge appetite.

Kim must have been reading his mind. She reached into her pack and produced a pair of energy bars. Past experience had taught her to be prepared for just this sort of thing, so she always had something like that. Granted, he would have preferred a pack of chips or nuts to the dry, chewy bars, but any port in a storm. She handed one to Ron and broke off a large chunk of hers to give to him. Happily he munched away at it, wondering if there was any way he could sneak a bite of Ron's as well.

"Not exactly the romantic getaway we had planned, was it, Ronnie?" Kim asked as she worked on the remainder of her bar.

"I don't see why not." Ron handed the last bit of his to Rufus before taking Kim's hand. "It's not like we didn't get to have some good clean fun before we got the call."

She smiled warmly at him, leaning over onto his shoulder once they were at cruising altitude and could get out of her harness. "I was so getting into that backrub you were giving me. When we get our own place, we have got to get one of those shower wand things."

"Yeah. That thing was badical. Just wish you had a chance to scrub my back too."

She gave his hand a good squeeze. "Spring break isn't too far off. Plus, I think I'll spend the night at your place Saturday night and I can give you a nice, long back rub. You too, Rufus." She gave his head a quick scratch, making him purr almost like a cat and setting his back leg to twitching in pleasure.

Sensing they were indeed settling in for a fairly long flight and that they would likely want a little relative privacy, he curled up in Ron's pocket, pulling the flap closed behind him. A large part of his life had been spent just like that. Of course, if they got a little carried away there was always the chance he could get slightly squished, but a quick squeak would warn them if that happened. He settled into a nice dream of an endless sea of cheese sauce drenched nachos while he waited out the ride.

He was rudely awakened to the sounds of shouting. He popped his head out of the pocket and immediately wished he hadn't. Everything was tumbling around in confusion. The inside of the hoverjet was dark except for the too-orange light coming from the rear of the craft. The smell of smoke was pervasive and he could tell they were no longer cruising at thirty-thousand feet, but falling rapidly from the sky. It reminded him of the time Kim's siblings had been along for a mission and had done something to disable their aircraft. Only this time it was smoke and fire he smelled, not spewing hydraulic fluid. Something far worse had happened.

Moments later they were no longer in the aircraft, but tumbling outside in the cold air. He caught a glimpse of Kim sailing through the air nearby, almost colliding with Ron. She wrapped an arm tightly around him and pulled the ripcord on her chute. That's when Rufus realized that his human wasn't wearing his. They were all three yanked upwards as the synthetic silk caught the air.

"Ron, wake up, please." Kim pleaded as she fought with the guidelines with one hand. "Ron!"

That was the last thing he heard when everything went black.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney


	42. Part XLII  Lost

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLII - Lost**

* * *

Kim was sick at her heart as she fought with her parachute lines. When she got snagged in a tree back in November it had been almost funny. That time, at least, she saw Ron and Joss touch down safely. Then it had only been embarrassing.

This time it was far worse. When the chute caught, Ron was yanked out of her arms. Their altitude had been too low by the time they bailed out and she never was able to get a good grip on him. It was a wonder he hadn't been ripped from her arms when she first pulled the cord. The only thing that marked his passage was a gap in the limbs of the pine tree that held her fast.

She was tangled in the lines. When she snagged, she had been yanked back up into them, holding her arms fast. Struggling, she was able to get her left arm free, though the rest of her was caught in a tangle that would have made a rope artist proud. If this had been a planned jump there would have been a knife on her harness for just such an eventuality. As it was, she couldn't even get to her tool belt for the lock blade knife she kept in one of the smaller pockets.

Frustrated, she closed her eyes for a second and took stock of her sitch. She was an unknown distance above the ground in an unknown location. Judging the amount of time they had actually been in the air and the relative terrain, she figured she was still somewhere in the Rockies. Exactly where, she couldn't even begin to tell. Since they were in the passenger cabin and not the cockpit, she really didn't see which way they were going. This was so the last time she was ever going to get on a plane after being told she would be briefed on the ground.

Thoughts of the ground brought her most immediate concern back to her. "RON!" No answer. Three tree canopy was so dense she could not see the ground, only the black hole that had swallowed him up as their descent came to an abrupt halt. Tears started running down her cheeks as she renewed her struggle against the cords. He had surprised her the night before by taking her to a late dinner, then to Middleton Motor Lodge for the night. True, it wasn't as fancy or as expensive as what he had done for her on Valentine's day a year earlier, but it was fantastic none-the-less. That morning they had gotten up early and decided to take a shower together, something they did on rare occasions. The reason it was so rare became apparent as they had almost taken it a step further until both realized the Kimmunicator was ringing in the other room.

As she fought to free her other arm, Kim found herself wishing they had made love, especially if he was…

…no. She wouldn't think that way. Ron was obviously hurt and most likely unconscious and it was up to her to do something. That meant keeping her head in the game and not panicking. Besides some scratches and bruises she was relatively unhurt. Her leg should have been singed at the very least from a blast of flames that had caught her, but the material of her leggings proved tougher than she imagined.

In all the confusion she never really got a good idea what had happened. One moment she had been dozing on Ron's shoulder, the next the hoverjet was spinning out of control, burning from its tail section. It was all she could do to grab a parachute and get free of the burning wreckage. It came to her that she had not leapt through the hatch, but through a gaping hole in the fuselage, taking Ron with her.

Her free hand went once more to her tool belt. The one thing she was expecting to find was missing. It was supposed to clipped to her hip, opposite the large pouch that hung from her modified pistol belt. Then it came back to her. Ron had been using it to play some sort of game. Why he had borrowed hers and not simply used his, she didn't know. Certainly he hadn't started getting into his old bad habit of leaving it (and his cell phone) at home again.

That almost made her growl aloud. She didn't have her wrist mounted Kimmunicator either, since Wade was upgrading it to include more sensor gear, getting ever closer to completely replacing the handhelds once and for all. That certainly didn't do her any good at the moment. For all she know, the only way she could be tracked was the special chip embedded in her neck, and all that could do was relay her location and some very basic conditional telemetry.

Kim almost crossed her eyes when she realized what she did have with her. Since she wasn't wearing the wrist Kimmunicator, she put on her older mission watch. The beam in it was nowhere near as powerful as her laser lipstick or even one of her mother's laser scalpels, but it was more than enough to go through a nylon cord, considering it had burned through a steel chain once as she was being lowered into a pit of hungry alligators.

Needless to say, it made short work of the cords binding her. She had to be extremely careful, concentrating first on getting her other arm loose before trying to get out of her harness. It was indeed a long way down and she didn't want to make one cut and send herself crashing down on top of Ron.

Once she was a little more confident of her footing, she called out to him again. This time she was rewarded with a moan. It was a slight boost to know he was alive, but from the sound of things it also confirmed he was not in the best shape.

Carefully she picked her way downwards. Her progress was hampered by the fact most of the really good foothold/handholds had been snapped off or at least cracked by Ron's passage. She was not looking forward to what awaited her below. She had a good, stinging cut on her cheek from being tangled at the top. He had crashed through dozens of limbs on his way down. There was a tattered bit of gray hanging from one limb. Ripstop fabric had met it's match on a Rocky Mountain pine.

"KP?" He moaned from beneath her. Finally she could see him. He was indeed cut and bruised, but his own dumb luck had saved him from the worst of it. He rubbed his head where it had hit a branch or two on the way down, but he was conscious and surprisingly whole considering his ordeal.

The saving grave had been the pants themselves. If it weren't for their dire sitch Kim would have laughed out loud at him. As it was, she did manage a slight titter. Ron was hanging upside down. What made it the worst was that he was hanging by his pants, which had come completely free from his legs but still hung on since the blousing straps at his ankles were properly tied off.

"Saved by the pants." She said as she helped him get loose. Finally free to use her knife, she made short work of the blousing straps as she held him about the shoulders, gently letting him down the last few feet. He looked especially cute standing there in his boxer shorts and boots while she inspected his cargos.

"Here, Ronnie." She handed the mostly intact pair of trousers to him. "Let's save your flashing me for the hotel room."

"If there even is one nearby." He checked his pocket. Rufus was woozy, but otherwise uninjured, probably receiving his own bump on the noggin. Then he started checking around their landing zone. That's when Kim noticed his tool belt was missing. He craned his neck, trying to look up into the tree, discovering he wasn't as free of injury as he first thought.

"Ow. I think I twisted something."

"You're damned lucky you didn't break your neck." She stopped herself, looking at him standing there, trying to look for his belt without bending the aforementioned body part. The thought that he may have been lying dead on the forest floor came rushing back to her. In moments she had her arms wrapped around him, her head buried in his chest. There had been many times before when she thought she may have lost him and it affected her the same every time, even before they were lovers.

"Um, KP, not that I don't mind having the most badical body at Middleton College mashed up against me, but shouldn't we be dealing with the sitch?"

"Just a moment." She held onto him for about another minute. She finally let go, wiping a few tears from her cheeks. "Okay, I'm good. Let's find the rest of your stuff and do an equipment check."

They searched for a good ten minutes, including a trip back up into the canopy to check the remains of her chute, but being an emergency bailout type, there wasn't much that could be salvaged. What had become of Ron's equipment belt, they didn't have a clue. It could be caught in any one of the nearby trees, but since it was a muted tan color very close to olive green it remained invisible to them. The main thing both of them were searching for was his Kimmunicator, which had been clipped to it just like hers was supposed to be.

While she was at the top of the tree salvaging some of the cord to use as rope, she cast about, looking for some sign of the hoverjet. She hoped she could spot the pilot's chute snagged somewhere, but the terrain was too rugged, plus, at the speed their craft was traveling, it could be miles away from them by the time it finally went down. That it was down she had no doubt. It was breaking up in the air. She said a silent prayer for the pilot as she climbed back down.

"Any luck raising Wade?" She asked as her feet touched the forest floor once more.

"Um, no." Ron was rubbing the back of his neck, wishing he had a couple of the ibuprofens he kept on his belt.

Kim raised an eyebrow. "You're not forgetting about it again, are you?" Wade had a habit of hiding backups of his Kimmunicator technology in other parts of their gear. One such micro-mini device turned up in Ron's sports watch. How the young genius had gotten his hands on the time piece long enough to install it, neither of them had a clue. One time she even had a dream of having an audio only version built into her glove, but she knew better. The only electronics built into the ones she was currently wearing were the controls for the morphing capabilities of her newer, more advanced turtleneck. Of course, more than once Ron forgot he had the thing and it seemed to her that maybe he had forgotten again.

Ron sat down on the ground, grinning sheepishly. He pushed back the sleeve of his sweater and pulled the cuff of his glove away, revealing the plain gold dress watch he had worn to dinner the night before. "Sorry, KP, but if he's managed to build one into this, I haven't figured out how to work it. Looks like we're incommunicado until we find my equipment belt."

"Darn it." She muttered, once again looking up into the dense vegetation. She shivered slightly, rubbing her bruised arm. At least wherever they were there wasn't so much snow on the ground. Since the area was heavily forested, she knew they weren't too high up in the mountains. "Okay, equipment check."

She opened up her own pockets. One of the big drawbacks of the olive 'tights' she now wore was the lack of built in pocket space. What she had was either in her belt or in the small black pouch attached to her leg with fastex buckles.

"Well, I've got my grappler gun, plus plenty of charges. Laser lipstick. I didn't have time to grab my pack, so we don't have any energy bars left with us."

"I've got my Swiss army knife." Ron added helpfully. "Note to self, don't put off the wilderness survival training GJ offers any more."

"More like a note to both of us. Okay, first order of business, we need to see if we can find the pilot. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell where the plane went down. I think we need to get to higher elevation so we can get some idea of the lay of the land. Maybe, if we're lucky, we can spot some smoke or something."

Ron struggled getting up. If it wasn't so cold, Kim would have ordered him to strip just to find out how banged up he truly was. There wasn't any blood evident except for a matching cut on his cheek, but she was certain he was black and blue under his clothes. She put out hand to help him up. Well, there wasn't anything to be done about it at the moment, so she cast about, trying to decide which way to go from there.

"You know, I thought when you're out lost like this, you're supposed to stay put. Shouldn't they be sending somebody out to look for us?"

Kim tapped the back of her neck. "Wade should be able to track us, at least the moment he realizes something's wrong. Finding the pilot is more important right now. If he bailed out in time, he's probably caught in the trees just like I was. If he didn't…" she let that thought hang in the air. "Did you see anything yourself?"

"Nope, one moment I was playing bingo on your Kimmunicator, the next there was some kind of explosion. Next thing I knew I was hanging upside down in the tree." He pointed up once more.

Shrugging, Kim started up the slight slope they were on. "Okay, then nowhere to go but up. Maybe we can find a break in the trees. For all we know, we could be on the outskirts of Denver and just a couple miles from civilization." She didn't go any further. Knowing their luck they were hundreds of miles from anything. If they were that close to a major city, it seemed like they would hear something. Cars on the interstate, a factory, planes flying overhead. Instead it was dead silent save for an occasional bird. Most of the snow was caught in the upper canopy, but there was enough to dampen almost all sound.

The thought of the snow made her think of Ron's sitch. His commando sweater was intact, but that wasn't enough to keep him warm if the temperature decided to plunge. She was slightly better off with the advanced materials of her newer suit. Considering they were supposedly doing something that involved Dementor, they would have been better off detouring to her house first to put on their battle suits, but no amount of second guessing was going to remedy their predicament. They were lost in a totally unknown place in the middle of winter, in terrain that could take a decidedly bad turn if the weather didn't cooperate. The gray skies didn't bode well in that regard.

At least it was still morning. If they couldn't find anything by nightfall their priorities would shift to finding shelter. Their lack of food wasn't too dangerous at that point, but if they remained lost for more than a day, that could become a bigger problem. Still, that wouldn't matter if hypothermia set in. Her outfit may have borrowed some features from the battle suits, but it wasn't designed to do any more than keep her reasonably comfortable in more controlled conditions. It didn't have the capacity to keep her warm over an extended period.

Ron was in worse shape in that regard. He literally only had two layers on his upper body and past experience had taught her that he was a little more prone to catching a chill than she was, plus, his turtleneck was of the plain, off the rack variety. If it got any colder she would be forced to stop and build a fire, hoping she could start it with her laser, at least as long as the charge held out. That was one feature she had never really explored. It was tiny, meant for small bursts to cut through things. She didn't even know if it would spark a fire, considering it was fairly low yield.

Their going was significantly slower than she liked. For one thing, the undergrowth was extremely thick, making her wish they had something more than their tiny knives to hack their way through it. If she had been prepared for the terrain she would have had a machete handy. Oh well, if wishes were fishes.

She laughed slightly at that thought. If she had a danged fish she would probably be told she had to hand it in as she was voted out of the igloo. She'd have given anything to be in that nice fluffy parka she had worn when she got zapped into that heinous reality show. She would instantly take it off and force Ron to wear it. Sure, it wouldn't have fit him all that well, but it would be something. She even considered trading turtlenecks with him. Certainly the morphing fabric had enough capacity to cover him. He wasn't _that_ much bigger than her.

Ron was having the worst time of it. Sure, he could be a whiner at times, but given their current predicament, he was being strangely silent. She knew he had to be hurting and his reticence was bothering her. It almost seemed unnatural for him not to complain about his discomfort.

They trudged uphill for the better part of an hour, though it didn't seem like they were actually getting anywhere. So far all they had managed to do was completely loose track of where they had come from. The only thing they had to go on was the slope. Fighting their way through the underbrush was tiring enough, but the steepness was getting worse as they went. Even her well-toned, muscular legs started complaining.

"You know, something just occurred to me." Ron said, the strain obvious in his voice. "If we'd stayed back where we were, Wade would have beeped in and we could have followed the sound to where my Kimmunicator was."

Kim stopped and frowned deeply. She hadn't even thought of that. "If it was even nearby. For all we know, you lost your belt somewhere up in the air. It might not have even been nearby."

"Yeah, but if we heard it, maybe he would remote access it somehow. Did those smaller units have the flight capabilities of the original?"

"Don't know. Water under the bridge, honey." She grimaced slightly, realizing she had called him by one of her pet names. They were supposed to be in mission mode, which meant she normally called him just Ron.

"Gotta rest for a bit." He said finally. At least he knew better than to try sitting down. He leaned against a tree trunk, trying to catch his breath. They were almost to the point where they were climbing hand over hand, though there never was a lack of handholds. Still, they didn't seem any nearer to any kind of precipice and the forest remained just as dark, meaning there were no clearings anywhere near.

Forgetting herself for a moment, she wrapped an arm around his waist and held him close, resting her head on his shoulder. Letting go of him, she checked her watch. It was just around noon. "Think of it this way, baby. There could be a Bueno Nacho at the top of the hill."

"Booyah." He said, a little weakly.

"They do have over thirty thousand locations."

"Thirty five." He corrected. "With a new one opening in Madison Wisconsin."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Once upon a time I would have wondered how you knew such things. Heck, right now, even I would like a Mucho Guaco Naco."

"And I would eat one of those wretched Mexi Mushroom Melts." He bent his neck around, trying to work some of the soreness out."

Rufus stuck his head out of his cargo pocket. He'd been huddled in there trying to keep warm. Kim considered scooping him up and putting him down inside her sweater. Normally she was a little put out when he wanted to snuggle against her meager cleavage, but it was more important he keep warm at the moment.

"Naco." He squeaked.

"Rufus, buddy, why don't you see if you can scurry up a tree and try to see something." Ron asked, pulling the little guy out of his pocket.

He saluted with a little paw and headed up the nearest large tree. Kim watched him go, planning to actually put him inside her top for the effort. He had to be extremely cold exposed like that. Still, Ron's idea was pretty good, as long as they were able to understand what he had to report once he got back down to them.

She licked her lips, realizing she was more than just hungry. They didn't have any water and at their current elevation they were probably a long way from any kind of stream. Maybe they could eat some snow, though she knew the human body tended to burn up too much energy melting it in relation to how much value it got out of the water. Despite the cold, she found herself craving a strawberry smoothie, or even one of those unidentified flavors of Slurpsters Ron favored.

Another issue involving liquids presented itself to her. The last time she had been in a bathroom was in the hotel that morning. While Ron waited for Rufus to come back down she moved away from him. She knew it was kind of silly to think of privacy given their situation, but that was just her way. It was one thing to take a shower with Ron, but quite another to drop trou for other reasons.

She was just about to take off her belt when she looked up and saw the barrel of the rifle. It was a military model, a version of the ubiquitous M4 the US army favored at the moment, a smaller version of the familiar M16.

It took her mind a second more to comprehend that there was a human being wielding the weapon, and that it was pointed directly at her head. She had not heard a thing, yet there was a man dressed in full camouflage, right down to face paint pointing the business end of an assault rifle at her.

"Don't move." He said in a soft, rough voice.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	43. Part XLIII – Captured, Again

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLIII – Captured, Again**

* * *

Rufus strained to make out anything that might be useful to Kim and Ron. Unfortunately, even though he was the natural choice for scampering up a tree, he wasn't that much use once he reached the top. True, his eyes were significantly better than any other naked mole rat's, considering they were pretty much blind, but being extremely nearsighted compared to humans, all he could make out was an ocean of green and white. He never really paused to think why he could perceive colors like a human instead of seeing the world in shades of gray like many non-humans.

Knowing the kind of situation they were all in, he didn't complain about the fact he was utterly cold, especially high up in the tree. Just like Ron's mate, he could go into his own version of Mission Mode, though he knew he would have to get back to the ground fairly quickly and return to his nice warm pocket, or even crawl up inside his human's sweater to an extra dose of warmth. His kind actually didn't produce all that much body heat, being nearly cold blooded like a reptile, though somehow being raised pretty much as a surrogate human, he never realized he did generate a little bit himself. He literally hadn't been around other mole rats since he was just a few weeks old and never knew just how different he had become from his progenitors.

He stayed at the top of the tree as long as he could, but just couldn't make out anything that would be of any use, save for the fact he could tell they were not terribly far from the top of the ridge. Of their ill-fated transport, he could see nothing. Finally, being mysteriously endothermic or not, he was starting to get numb, considering he really was literally naked. Even that midriff baring "KimStyle for Pets" outfit would have been welcome, though it kept him from scratching itchy spots when he needed to. Carefully he picked his way down, a much more daunting prospect considering how stiff he was starting to feel, and the fact he was forced to go down one claw-hold at a time rather than sliding down. The trunk was just too rough and it was a bit too far down to jump.

His tiny heart jumped into his throat when he couldn't spot Ron on the ground waiting for him. He knew Kim had gone off a little ways by herself, but from his vantage point still about twenty feet up he should have been able to spot her. He reached the ground and immediately started casting about. The first thing he noticed was the extra layers of human smells. That sense, at least, didn't lie to him. He had heard nothing the whole time, yet now, in the space of about ten minutes, both of them had completely vanished.

The first thin he spotted was a set of strange boot-prints. They weren't Ron's size thirteens or Kim's size sevens, so there at least he knew the source of the fresh scents. His usual priorities, namely being very cold and very hungry, were pushed to the back of his mind while he pondered what had become of his two humans.

His hunting skills were very meager and he could not stalk by scent, so he had to rely on other skills. Calming himself despite his shivers, he settled down on the ground and concentrated. Finding what he wanted, he sprang to action, scampering across the forest floor, this time away from the ridge they had previously been trying to reach.

* * *

"Well, this certainly seems familiar." Ron muttered. His hands were bound over his head in metal clamps. It was at times like these he was thankful he was a fairly small guy. Hanging by his wrists was painful enough without having to support a lot of weight.

One of the heavily armed men who had silently appeared out of nowhere just turned and glared at him. His first thought when he came face to face with the wrong end of an assault rifle was that they had stumbled into some kind of military training maneuver. That thought was quickly dashed when he saw another one roughly pushing Kim toward them. Both of the 'soldiers' were expertly camouflaged, but their equipment did not match. One was wearing a uniform and body armor of muted grays, carrying a short boxy rifle that was all too familiar to him. He knew the weapon well, considering he had been shot by one of them back during the summer. His shoulder twitched involuntarily, remembering the blinding pain of being hit at close range by a P90.

The other man was dressed in mottle green of a pattern he did not recognize. It wasn't the old woodland camo still in use by the army, nor was it the newer digital pattern used by the marines. The disparate patterns screamed mercenary to him.

The soldier who had Kim pulled some heavy zip ties from his pouch and bound both their wrists while the gray one held his weapon on them. Not a word was said as they were quickly searched. Kim's equipment belt was taken from her and slung over a shoulder and the green one pointed, indicating they should go that way.

If they thought the going was tough when they were climbing from their landing zone, it was infinitely worse doing it without his hands. He moaned involuntarily from the pain in his arms. One elbow was already twisted from the crash and having them tied behind his back was already making it worse. The only thing he got for his pain was a jab in the back from the longer muzzle of the green one's rifle.

After about twenty minutes of hiking another soldier appeared. He was wearing gray just like the first, though he was carrying a carbine version of the European G36 rifle. Kim may have eschewed firearms, but it was still useful to become familiar with them. They had both undergone some cursory weapons training in the underground range at GJ headquarters. He never really admitted it to her, since she didn't like guns in any form, but he enjoyed that one chance he had to open up at a target with an elderly M-16.

They were led into an underground bunker that both of them would have missed if they didn't know it was there. They were joined by more soldiers who roughly clamped them up onto the wall before disappearing deeper inside, leaving just the one man in green to guard them.

"Um, aren't these restraints against the rules or something?" Ron complained, earning him another glare.

"Shut up." The man said softly.

There was a blast of cold air as the hidden doorway opened once more, admitting yet another man in green, this time carrying a large weapon on his shoulder. Ron wasn't sure what it was, but apparently Kim knew.

"Well, now we've got a pretty good idea what happened to the hoverjet." She whispered.

"What?"

"Shoulder launched anti-aircraft missile. Whoever these guys are, they shot us down." She turned to the man guarding them. "What happened to the pilot?"

"Shut up." He repeated once more. For effect, his left hand drifted down to his hip where a large knife with a bayonet hoop was strapped.

He could tell Kim was too angry to be intimidated. How many times before had they been trussed up like this? He couldn't count.

"Just what is going on?" Kim growled, twisting slightly. Ron could tell she was rather uncomfortable and it wasn't just from the bindings. It started dawning on him why she had started to wander off. Knowing her, he felt sorry for her. Then too, he was feeling a little sorry for the guy who captured her. Just a little.

"Keep your pie-hole shut, girl."

Ron was sure she was about to say "Make me" when another man appeared, this time in an all-too familiar uniform. He was dressed in a gray jumpsuit with an off-white helmet, the visor down over his eyes. He wasn't just a large man, he was huge, obviously a prime specimen of the type employed by Jack Hench in order to sub-contract them to his paying clients.

Oddly enough, the man in green eyed this new arrival with the same disdain he held for the two teens. There seemed to be some kind of uneasy alliance at work.

"The boss said there should have been some kind of animal with these two." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Unlike the soldiers who had come from the outside, he was taking no pains to keep his voice low.

"Wasn't on them." Green replied with soft venom. "All they had was this." He took Kim's equipment belt off his shoulder and handed it over to the Henchman.

He glanced at it and slung it over his own shoulder. "The thing is supposed to be some kind of rat. Pink, hairless. Freaky thing. About eight inches long. It could be hiding in one of their pockets."

Green shook his head. "Nope. Checked them real good. Maybe it didn't make it off the plane."

"I'll contact the team checking out the wreckage. Keep a sharp eye out. If it's loose it will try to spring them."

"A rat?" Green asked softly.

"Hey, I'm just relaying what the boss said."

"He's not my boss."

Gray shrugged and headed back into the bowels of the underground bunker. Kim glanced over at Ron and mouthed the word "Dementor."

"Oh yeah." He whispered back. The crisp gray jumpsuit was instantly recognizable, though it had no external markings. He looked directly at Green. "Don't care much for the little German, do you?"

"Listen, punk. I'm only going to tell you one more time. You either shut the hell up or you're going to be pondering every possible meaning of the term 'silent as the grave.'"

"Somebody's been spending too much time watching that Jimmy Blamhammer pirate movie." Ron observed.

Green stood about an inch from Ron's face. "If you don't shut up…"

Another soldier in green appeared. He was wearing the same kind of uniform, but didn't have the Kevlar helmet or the body armor, nor was his face painted. The only identifiable mark on his uniform were the chillingly familiar symbols on his shoulder tabs. It was a simple black triangle, though he wasn't sure if it was meant to be the Greek letter Delta, or if it were the symbol he saw on some of the Arkonian soldiers they fought in the swamps of South Carolina.

"Bring them." He said in a neutral accent, making him think it was most likely the former. The alien soldiers rarely spoke English in his experience.

* * *

At least scampering after Kim and Ron had the effect of making him slightly warmer, even when he had to cut across random patches of snow. The small bites of energy bar he had earlier on the plane were long gone, but he ignored the pangs of hunger emanating from his belly. Some things (very few) were more important than food and his humans were at the very top of that list.

He pulled to a stop and sniffed the air once more. There was a faint smell of cornmeal and spiced beef, along with the different, but still pleasant smell of citrus shampoo and bath soap, smells he associated with them. Only they seemed to stop.

That wasn't what he was following, however. He didn't fully comprehend the ability, but he could sense Rons, and to a lesser degree, Kim's presence. Only, he seemed to be right on top of them. He sat up on his hind legs, scratching his bald head, fighting off another shiver as the cold tried to lull him into sleep. If it weren't for his overriding concern, he would have been in pretty rough shape. As it was, his body was surrounded by a very faint blue glow.

He heard a faint scraping sound and got behind some scrub just in time as the hidden door opened. Rufus hunkered down and watched as a trio of gray-clad soldiers emerged, heading out on some kind of patrol. Then it dawned on him. The reason he felt like he was right on top of Kim and Ron was that he literally was. He almost smacked his forehead for not thinking like a mole rat. Underground, of course. Besides, it would be warmer down there anyway!

Exercising as much patience as he could, he waited until the trio of scouts were out of sight, then scurried to where they hatch had opened. The edges were not even visible, but he had other skills and instincts to bring into play. Once he was attuned to the ground, he knew that he was standing over a hollowed out space. Slight tremors transmitted through his sensitive paws (even the cold could not deaden that) told him that there was movement beneath him. Then all was still. Kim and Ron seemed to be more distant by that point, but that was definitely where they were.

The door itself was built with two purposes in mind. One was to keep it hidden. The other was to let humans in and out if they knew where to look for it. That part he had down, so all he had to do was concentrate on finding a way in. Fortunately, it had not been constructed with keeping the weather out in mind. That meant small gaps, openings that a creature his size could exploit. Being a rodent fundamentally designed to squeeze through subterranean passages, if he could get his tiny head through, his body would easily follow. There had been plenty of times when he was locked out of Ron's or Kim's room and all he had to do was squeeze underneath. There was no weather stripping, so he had more than enough room to get inside.

The room itself was dark, so he once again relied on his refined sense of touch. If there was somebody in that first large chamber, they weren't moving around. Slowly his eyes adjusted, having come from the relatively bright outdoors into an unlit space. Once he was confident nobody was about to grab him by the tail, or worse stamp on him, he scouted about. There was only one other exit, so that was clearly the way he would have to go. He hugged the wall, hoping there would be plenty of nooks and crannies for him to dive into if there was a chance he could be spotted.

* * *

Two men waited in one of the largest spaces in their underground bunker. Just about the only traits the two of them shared were their broadly built bodies and their neatly trimmed facial hair. One was tall, though not exceptionally so. His reddish brown hair was swept back over his ears and one eye was covered with a patch.

The reason he looked so tall was simply because his companion was…not. Professor Dementor was actually about five foot three, but his bulky body made him seem much shorter than he actually was. It also didn't help that most of his crew stood well over six feet tall. If he felt self-conscious about his stature, he never showed it. In fact, he imagined himself to have a very commanding presence.

Not that Gemini appreciated that in the least. The diminutive European was simply a means to an end. With the majority of his World Wide Evil Empire decimated by his run-in with his hated enemy back in late Fall he had taken a more practical approach, figuring 'any port in a storm.' There was also the added benefit that, for some unknown reason, Dementor did not get the attention that his own troops, or some other evil masterminds did. Part of that was his penchant for doing his own thing and not involving others whenever possible. His downfall usually came when he butted heads with the likes of Doctor Drakken, who had been curiously absent from the field since his escape from prison while awaiting his real trial.

Both men were somewhat put out by what they were about to do. It was bad enough that they had to work together, but to have been conscripted by a third party? At least their compensations would be rather nice and once all this was done, they could bo back to their own evil endeavors.

They didn't quite know what to expect, only that their latest benefactor would meet them at this particular location. There was just an edge of concern in both their minds that they might be double-crossed, but so far the man had been as good as his word.

"He is late." Gemini muttered.

"Of course he is late. It's not like I WOULD WANT TO BE HANGING AROUND WHERE A GLOBAL JUSTICE AIRCRAFT WAS SHOT DOWN!" The pint sized professor screamed at his temporary ally.

"I was not going to allow them a chance to discover our new base of operations. Don't worry, Professor, their transponder signal was scrambled the moment we detected them invading our airspace. I made the mistake of allowing an aircraft to come that close to me before, and believe me, I paid the price."

A tall Henchman clad in gray stepped up to his boss and whispered in his helmet covered ear. He nodded and shoed the man off. "Well, it seems perhaps you are smarter than I have given you credit for being. It appears our patrols have captured the Hero/Thief and her supposed paramour."

"What are you talking about?"

"He means they have captured Team Possible trying to infiltrate your 'supposedly' secret base." Another voice answered, startling both men.

They turned to see an even taller man standing on the control platform with them. He was dressed totally in black robes, completely obscuring whatever he had on beneath them. In one gloved hand he held a small stone statue that looked, at least to Gemini, like some kind of stylized mechanical monkey doll.

"Well, what do the two of you have to say for yourselves? Have you obtained what I have asked you to?"

"Not yet." Gemini said softly. "It will only be a matter of time, however. I attempted to bring the woman to my side, but I did not count on her somehow befriending her former enemy."

The tall, hooded man shook his head. "I am not so much concerned with the mother as I am with the child. I am prevented from interfering with them myself, but we must have her in our control."

"Do not worry. It is not so long before the child will be born now. Once the mother is incapacitated, we will make our move."

"See to it." He turned once more to Dementor. "What of you?"

"I already have half the items you wished my men to secure. Soon enough, we will have our chance to recover the rest."

Gemini stepped forward. "What about Team Possible?"

They both could see a slight smile creep across the mysterious man's lips. "Do not concern yourselves overly with them. Keep them in your control as long as possible."

"Why not simply dispose of them?" Gemini suggested.

The tall man shook his head. "No. They are not to be…permanently harmed. Otherwise, do with them what you will." With that he turned and stepped regally down the staircase, walking into an open passageway. There was a brief flash of reddish light, then he was gone.

"I find it very foolish not to deal with the interlopers." Dementor muttered.

"Patience, Professor. You heard what he said. Once we have what we want, we will be able to do whatever we please with the two of them. Then we will never be bothered by them again, and without them, my sister will be crippled."

"I hope you are right." The short scientist said as he got away from the other madman as quickly as he could.

* * *

Rufus knew he had to be close. He could almost feel Ron's anxiety, much the same way he could tell when random base personnel were near him. Just a little further and he would see them once more. Certainly he would find a way to release them.

Another scent crossed his sensitive nostrils, and before he could stop it, a low growl came from deep in his throat.

That growl was returned, only it was louder than he expected it to be. A shape that was several times larger than he remembered stepped out into the light. There was no longer any reason for subterfuge. Rufus had a fight on his hands.

Pepe the Chihuahua was one thing, but apparently he had undergone much the same treatment that Dementor's dachshunds had.

He prepared to do battle with Pepe the Mutant Chihuahua!

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	44. Part XLIV– Mutant Combat

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLIV - Mutant Combat  
**

* * *

Instead of simply shoving them down the passageway on foot, two burly guards in plain gray uniforms simply slung them over their shoulders after securing their hands once more in thick zip-ties. If they had not been wearing gloves the plastic strips would have dug into their flesh, making them extremely thankful the soldiers who searched them had not simply taken them. There still seemed to be some unwritten code that uniforms were left intact, save for the equipment belt that had been taken from them. Of that, there was no sign. Granted, being slung over the shoulder of a large Henchman was not the best way to see the sights, and it was quite dark in the passageway. Whoever had outfitted it certainly scrimped on light bulbs, and where there actually were any, if they were anything more than sixty watt, they'd be monkey's uncles. 

The pathway led steadily down. Kim kept thinking if she had a dime for every time a baddie built a subterranean lair, well, it wouldn't be Naco royalty money, but she could probably buy Ron a very nice car. Despite their predicament, she had to chuckle softly, still smarting for getting after him about that back around New Years. As another month rolled around, she made a point of trying to be nicer. It helped she really didn't have any symptoms that time around. After all, why did Ron really need his own car? Just because he liked to drive sometimes? Sure, he had only passed Barkin's test by the skin of his teeth, but the only way he was going to get better was to actually drive. So what if her car were actually worth millions on the open market. Only a select handful of people knew that and the only thing he had wrecked since getting a license was his motorcycle, and even that had not been his fault (unless you counted he fact he put off buying new tires for it until it was too late.)

The left the tunnel, emerging inside a gigantic space carved out of the inside of the mountain. If there had been any doubts before whose lair this was, it was erased immediately by the sight of groups of men, some in gray, some in magenta and white, working computer consoles, every now and then looking at giant monitors displayed above them. There was something about villain lairs. If they ever wanted to go legit, they could probably live well selling off those things as high definition widescreen televisions. That is, if they could actually find somebody with a home large enough to house them.

They walked up to a wall and, following current villain fashion (or at least what had be vogue since they were fifteen) they were once again shackled to a wall hanging from their wrists. This time, at least, the bonds weren't quite so far off the ground, so they could at least get their toes down to support some of their weight. Ron could almost put his feet flat on the floor. Being carried was actually a welcome respite, though later when they got out of their sitch, they were going to most def take turns giving each other backrubs. Considering the shape Ron must have been in, he was getting it first. Kim allowed herself a little grin that she had the confidence they would eventually figure a way out.

It did bother her that Ron wasn't saying much. Normally he would be cracking wise, like he had been earlier. His quietness alone was enough that she would likely get him to go to the Medical Center for some x-rays. All she had to do was hint to her mother that Ron might be hurt and she would probably bodily drag him there herself. Of course, that might mean she would be in for a battery of tests herself, but she hadn't been the one dropped down through a tree after an emergency bailout of their plane.

They hung that way for a few minutes before he finally said something. "You know, somebody's going to have to revoke their lair certificate. They don't have streams of vile green water flowing around in here."

"Ron, that was Drakken's lairs."

"No, not just Drakken. Falsetto Jones had the green water thing going on too."

"That was just green lights. I think that was acid in Drakken's lair."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. His sharks were swimming around in the stuff."

Kim managed to crane her neck around. "Sharks? They were swimming in that grotto in his original lair, before we blew it up a couple times. Remember?"

"No, I'm not talking about that one, I'm talking about the one we blew up his mega-what sis- generator thingy."

Confusion registered on her face. She knew the place he was talking about then. Only that wasn't Drakken, but Ron turned evil who had built the Mega-Weather-Generator. "I don't remember any sharks in there."

"Yeah, they were right there in the middle of the place under a retractable cover."

"Oh, how sweet. Zee hero/thief and her alleged fiancé at taking a stroll down memory lane WHEN THEY SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT ZERE OWN SKIN!" Dementor walked up to them, standing almost nose to nose with Kim.

"You're just upset we stopped you from getting away with that damp reactor Whosiewhatsis." Ron quipped, a little weakly.

"I'm upset? I'M UPSET? I AM ECSTATIC. I have once again capture the famous Kim Possible! If I were not busy with my work, I would celebrate with a bottle of liebfraumilch. Or perhaps some good hot cocoa."

"The time for celebration is later." Another, equally familiar voice broke in. "It was my men who shot down the aircraft, so it is I who claim responsibility for capturing Miss Possible and the "Non-factor'." Gemini stepped into the light. He was wearing a camouflage uniform of the same mottle green as his exterior scouts, though it was cut into the same double-breasted pattern of his more familiar magenta and white clothing.

"Sounds to me like somebody at GJ needs to do another security sweep, if you know that one." Kim quipped.

"Old news, my dear, which is what the two of you are." He turned to one of his men in the green camo. "How well were they searched?"

The armored WWEE operative who had been trying to get Ron to shut up produced Kim's utility belt. "This is all they had on them when we found them."

"What about that vile animal the boy keeps with him?"

"T…there was no sign of it, sir."

Gemini narrowed his eyes at the man. "And who, pray tell, Scout Two One Five, is currently searching for it?"

"I…I don't know. Some of Professor Dementor's men were going to search the wreckage. I will go find out for you sir."

"Do not return without it. That creature is highly dangerous. I want it found, whether it is brought to me alive or you bring me its lifeless corpse. Am I understood?"

"Perfectly, sir!" He beat a hasty retreat before his employer could bring one of his nastier punishments to bear on the unfortunate man.

Ron seemed to go sullen again. He was more worried than he was trying to let on about Rufus. If the little guy hadn't found shelter by then, he was in as much danger as the two of them, if not more.

* * *

The two animals faced each other off. Rufus bared as much of his teeth as he could, though besides his massive buck incisors, the rest of his teeth were somewhat less than impressive. The same could not be said for his opponent. Whatever had been done to the formerly rat-sized dog had given him a set of choppers that belongs on a prehistoric creature, though he was intelligent enough to know that there never really was a creature called a saber-tooth Chihuahua. 

Pepe backed up slightly, but he wasn't giving ground. Muscles bulged around his front legs as if he had been crossed with a bull-dog. The process apparently hadn't done as much for his hindquarters, as they seemed cartoonishly small compared to the rest of him. One thing was different, however. He no longer seemed to have any fear about him at all. Normally Rufus could intimidate most creatures with a display of un-rat-like ferocity. That didn't seem to be working this time.

Rufus considered his plight for a moment as they stood there growling at each other. He could easily run back the way he had come. There were plenty of holes he spotted along the way that would admit him and not Pepe. The problem was that didn't do anything to help Ron and Kim. Escape and safety was behind him. His humans were on the other side of that genetically manipulated canine monster.

That really wasn't a choice at all. With as much of a roar as his tiny throat could muster he charged the tan colored beast. Years spent watching Kim had taught him that a smaller fighter could bowl over a larger attacker if they were hit correctly. The 'bigger they are' axiom was well known to him. He also had something else working in his favor.

Razor sharp teeth snapped at him, but he was too fast. He jumped up and over the dog, latching his front claws into his shoulders as he passed over him. Pepe was yanked off his paws and sent sprawling. It didn't do any real damage, but the first fall went to Rufus.

However, this wasn't a GWA wrestling match. It didn't matter how many times the animal fell, if those teeth ever got a hold of him there wouldn't be much left. Pepe had the benefit of being the one playing for keeps.

The bulky body snapped around far faster than it seemed it should have been able to. In an instant he was back on his feet, this time charging Rufus. Instead of meeting the aggressor head on, he charged off to the side, taking advantage of the slight curvature of the wall to run right up it. There was a tiny claw-hold, allowing him to hang there a few moments, just out of reach of the snapping, snarling jaws.

His tiny mind was racing. He barely emerged from Ron's pocket the time he had gone up against Dementor's mutant dachshunds. The Bavarian stronghold was so high in the mountains it was permanently buried in snow and he knew better than to leave his nice warm home. Still, he knew pretty much what had been done to slow them down that time. Unfortunately, he was fresh out of Pixie Muffins. Of course, being what he was, he did stop to consider how good those things would taste right about then.

That wasn't doing anything to get him past Pepe, however. Using his hind legs in 'kangaroo rat' mode, he kicked out, sailing up and over the slathering purebred. The dog either had been granted an upgrade in his intelligence or simply guessed correctly, streaking along the floor of the tunnel to he could catch the mole rat in mid-jump.

Rufus was not so easily beaten. He twisted in midair, bringing his hind legs down in a flying kick. He caught the dog in the lower jaw, slamming his apple-sized head down into the rough hewn stone.

He was quickly back on his feet, shaking his rattled head to clear it. Rufus took full advantage of the momentary respite to rush the dog and yank him off his feet once more. He landed in a kung-fu pose, snarling and gnashing his teeth at his opponent. Yet, for all his bravado, he knew he had not done any lasting harm to the animal. Pepe wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice.

Rufus had to do something, and do it fast. He knew he could not keep it up all day and he had no idea what kind of stamina a mutant Chihuahua would have. For that matter he didn't know what he would have had in his normal state. They were locked in a stalemate for the moment, but he knew his own energy reserves were running low, considering the meager food he had. With his size and his metabolism, he burned up the energy pretty quickly.

Pepe charged once more and again the snapping teeth missed by only a whisker's breadth. If he had anything more than an ultra-fine coating of nearly invisible fuzz, he would have likely been snagged. He shoved the mental image of his little body being shaken about by a dog who, by all rights should have been shivering in fear and tried to calm himself.

He needed something, something more than he usually brought to the fight. He had seen Ron do extraordinary things, things no human should have been able to do themselves, and he knew the same power resided in him. He knew it for certain the first time he held the Lotus Blade in his tiny claws. The power coursed through him, into the ancient weapon, shaping it to his will.

Blue light blazed around his little body. His whiskers, which normally drooped slightly, stood on end and he could see little bits of yellow light swirling around him. If the lights had not already been dim, he still would have been surrounded by blackness as his being spanned two worlds, one that he lived in and one that he had no way of understanding.

The power coursed through him and he stamped his tiny back paw on the floor. There was a sound like a thunderclap and a crack spread across the rock, straight at the dog. He was thrown from his feet as the floor beneath him turned into nothing but splintered pieces of rock.

Using his advantage to its fullest, Rufus lunged at him once more, only this time instead of grabbing onto his scruff, he landed on the crest of his back, digging in with his back claws. Holding his tiny paws to his mouth, he uttered a strange call, one he had heard only once before.

* * *

Dementor came closer to Kim, once more standing nose to nose with her, glaring at first into her eyes, then examining her from head to toe. Normally the short European abided by all the unwritten codes most villains adhered to, but she had the notion he was about to search her in a manner that, in the legal world, would require a female observer. 

Fortunately he did not. Instead he reached up to where her hands were bound. For a moment she thought he may inexplicably be letting her loose from her bonds, but that hope was dashed when he pulled back the cuff of her glove. The reason became quickly apparent when he pulled her watch off, examining it closely.

"A micro-mini cutting laser. AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICES ZEEZE THINGS!" He bellowed at his men, who, to their credit, did not flinch at his diatribe like Gemini's lackeys would. He slammed the modified time piece to the ground and smashed it under the heel of his boot. Then he turned his attention to Ron and pulled off his watch was well, having a much harder time of it since the band of his dress watch was made of metal and had to be pulled over his hand. Ron grimaced slightly, as his captor was not interested in being gentle about it.

He spent a couple moments trying to figure out what, if anything it did. Kim had a bad moment, thinking it might have had some secret Wade had forgotten to inform them about, but he finally threw it down at Ron's feet in disgust, not finding anything save for a cheap analog watch with fake gold trim.

"Enough playing around. Professor." He rudely shoved him aside and leaned down, trying to get right in Kim's face. "I want to know how Global Justice found my newest headquarters."

"Why don't you ask them yourself. They're bound to know where we are by now."

Gemini laughed slightly. "If you are speaking of your vaunted multi-communications devices, I am afraid you are sadly mistaken. All communications in this area are completely jammed." He reached into a hidden pocket and produced Ron's silver colored unit. Apparently it had been found after they were captured. Brazenly he started hitting the send button over and over. The device chimed each time, but the screen remained blank. "Do not think the tracking devices hidden on your persons will avail you either, but just to be on the safe side."

His metal hand came up, glowing with crackling electrical energy. He touched Kim and Ron in turn, causing both of their bodies to writhe momentarily as the discharge coursed through their bodies. Kim knew the newer chips embedded in each of their necks were now shielded against just such procedures, but that didn't matter if all transmissions were being either jammed or intercepted. The devices were passive in nature and would only work if they received a special signal broadcast by one of the satellites Wade had access to. If help was coming at all, they would only have a general idea of where they had lost contact with the hoverjet.

"What about the pilot?" Kim rasped after she had recovered. She was grateful the discharge had not been too powerful, or she would have let loose with what she was intending to do when they were captured.

"He is currently our…guest. When he comes to, rest assured we will be asking him some of the same questions we are asking you. Now answer the question. How did you find this base?"

"You showed it to us yourself when your boys dragged us in here." Kim spat back at him.

"Do not play coy with me, Miss Possible. As you are well aware, I am not one to suffer fools gladly." With that, he pointed his right index finger straight at Ron's jaw. Four tiny fins sprang from the mini-missile at the tip, ready to fire at him point blank. She had no way of knowing whether it carried an explosive charge or was designed to merely incapacitate, but at that range, she was not willing to have that happen to him any more than she wanted an explosive going off.

"We don't know. GJ was supposed to brief us on the ground. We were only along for the ride. For all we know, we could have been going someplace else when you shot us down. Wouldn't that have been something if that were true. You could have been safe and sound. Now you're at least going to have to deal with search parties once they realize their plane was shot down."

He turned to face Ron. "What about you, Mister Ron Factor?" The finger moved from his face to Kim's. "Same question?"

"She's telling you the truth. It didn't even look like we were getting ready to land."

Dementor put a hand on his ally's arm, pulling it away from Kim's cheek. "Do not concern yourself over much, Herr Gemini." He looked up at Ron. "We have vays of making you talk."

"Um, news flash, short stuff. We're talking."

Professor Dementor looked like he was about to backhand Ron for just a moment, but backed off. He conferred with Gemini for a moment in whispers. Kim strained, but could not understand what they were talking about. Moments later the taller man faced her once more.

"Where is Sherry Godfrey?"

"Don't you know? You're the one with all the little spy-flies."

"I was not enquiring as to what I may or may not know myself. I want to know where Shego, my erstwhile Agent Alpha is hiding."

"Like I'm supposed to know where she is. Maybe you didn't get the memo, but she and I aren't exactly the best of friends."

"Oh you're not? That seems surprising considering the fact you went out of your way to rescue her last fall. Perhaps all of those strange internet rumors are true after all."

Kim actually snarled at him. There was no way to know that there was a sort of truce between the two of them, nor why it existed in the first place, but to insinuate she had any kind of sexual relationship with the woman… For half a moment she considered doing to him what she had only ever done to another male. It wasn't something she liked to do, but given the circumstances, she would find the sight of him writhing on the floor, gripping the target of her considered attack in pain.

Perhaps sensing what she might do, he backed away slightly, out of range of her legs. "I will ask you again. Where is Agent Alpha?"

"Kinda funny you still call her that, since she's the one who pretty much told you which way you could stick it the last time she was around."

"What I do with my personnel is my own business." The hand came up once more, this time touching her chin. "Where is she?"

"Most def not in the same place I saw her last, which was in her home packing up everything she could carry, just in case somebody like you or Global Justice got it in their heads to come after her." That much was absolute truth. For the baby's sake she hoped she was still close enough that her mother could care for her, or at least had found another doctor willing to help her. She had to be getting very close to her due date.

Gemini clenched his teeth, as if he could not decide what he wanted to do next. Finally he backed off, the fins retracting into his fingertip. "Very well. Professor, I think we may have a new candidate for your mutagenic process. I do trust you remember his little…pets?"

Kim could only think of the two dachshunds Dementor had used to capture her and Bonnie Rockwaller when they raided his Bavarian lair. The dogs had been taken in for study, though after a few weeks they had returned to their normal state, and the last she had heard, had been taken into a loving household as pets after the scientists determined the process had no lingering effects on them.

Her breath caught in her throat as two burly Henchmen approached. Her panic got even worse when it was not her, but Ron they took down from his bonds.

"I told you we would make you talk, Hero/thief. This time, I have found out how to make this permanent. Say goodbye to your lover."

She could only watch as he was bundled off toward a strange machine. His eyes locked with hers as they strapped him down on a table much like the one DNAmy had used to merge Rufus with Steve Barkin so many years before.

That was when the lights went off.

With the exception of a couple very faintly glowing monitors, the entire chamber was thrown into utter and complete darkness as if they were swimming in opaque black ink. They were far enough under ground that no light, be it the sun or the nighttime stars could reach them. Something had cut the power so completely that not even the equipment had power.

It was only a matter of time before one of the armed soldiers inside the base realized their weapons were equipped with tactical lights, or some kind of backup power came on. She had to act quickly, but for the moment, she had no idea what she could do. Then she felt something small and light scamper up her body. In any other circumstance she would have yelped as something crawled over her chest, thick sweater or no, but she instantly realized what it was and smiled, though nobody could see her do so.

The bands holding her wrists snapped open and she almost fell, considering the only sense that could be relied on in the dark was her hearing and her sense of touch. Then several things happened at once.

Rufus dropped from the clamping mechanism onto her shoulder. She felt something else brush past her legs, almost knocking her down once more. Then the little mole rat on her shoulder let out the strangest sound, which seemed for all the world to sound just like the call Ron had used to control Dementor's dachshunds.

There was a surge of blue light nearby, though the shape was indistinct. Two eyes bobbed up and down and there was a crashing sound, then a crunch. Somebody, perhaps one of the Henchmen grunted loudly, followed by another, softer crash. All she could do was stand in place and wait. There were too many pitfalls in the underground chamber and she still couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

Somebody finally realized they had a flashlight mounted on their weapon. It surged to life like a brilliant star, momentarily blinding her. Fortunately, it also provided a target for the faint blue figure moving among the other combatants. Something large and dark collided with the rifle wielding soldier, obscuring the light and sending both of them down.

Dim red emergency lights came on, revealing the melee that had been taking place in pitch blackness. At least a dozen henchmen lay sprawled about the floor. Ron was standing on a platform about ten feet above the floor, his eyes glowing soft blue in the ruddy light. He held an unconscious seeming Henchman above his head, ready to pitch him into two oncoming attackers.

"SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. SELF DESTRUCT IN T-MINUS TWO MINUTES AND COUNTING." An electronic voice blared over the public address system.

Kim sprang into action. They had to get out NOW!

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	45. Part XLV – The Fly in the Ointment

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLV – The Fly in the Ointment**

* * *

Bluish white fire crackled to life in the darkened corridor. It lit up Gemini's face briefly as he searched for a manual door release. While the electrical discharge function of his bionic hand was primarily intended as an offensive weapon, it gave off just enough light for him to see by. His mind was a trifle too busy at the moment to wonder why the emergency lighting had come on only in the command center and not in the escape tunnel. The two systems were supposed to be linked. He could only guess that whatever had cut the main power may have caused the blackout unintentionally.

He sensed rather than heard the person behind him. Whirling around, he grabbed the figure by his heavy jacket, spinning him around and pinning him to the wall with his real hand.

"I thought we agreed we would not install a self-destruct device in this facility?" His eyes narrowed.

In the bluish light afforded by the artificial limb, Dementor looked more sickly than ever. His jaundiced appearance sickened Gemini, but he put up with the stunted Professor simply because he needed him and his men while he put his organization back on its feet.

"I did no such thing. I thought you had it installed without my knowledge." Dementor pleaded.

Gemini tightened his grip, causing the short, blocky man to cringe. "What purpose would that serve? The whole point to building this base was to create a new hidden headquarters for WWEE. I did not want it destroyed the first time we had prisoners!"

The countdown sounded once more. Strange that, with the power off to the lighting and the controls that the public address system still seemed operational. Dementor flailed around with his tiny legs. "I would suggest we take this up at another time BEFORE WE ARE BLOWN TO BITS."

"ONE MINUTE, THIRTY SECONDS TO SELF DESTRUCT. ALL PERSONELL EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."

"You have a point." He simply released Dementor, letting him drop to the floor. He turned his attention back to the hidden manual controls, trying to release the door."

* * *

Rubbing her sore wrists, Kim surveyed the control center. The operators and Henchmen still able to had already beat a hasty retreat. She stepped over one of the gray clad men who had succumbed to the onslaught of her mystically powered fiancé, heading straight for the one console that had power.

Ron dropped down from the platform he had been standing on, rushing up to her. "KP, maybe we'd better get out of here!"

She tilted her head to a pair of guards slumped against each other. "Not while there are still people here. They may be the bad guys, but I'm not leaving them here!"

"Kim, I'm all about the noble, but we can be noble and we can be dead. Come on, there's nothing we can do here!"

"No. Don't forget, they've got the pilot in here too. I'm not leaving without trying to save everyone." She surveyed the console, trying to decipher its purpose. Considering there was a large, retro styled microphone set in its center, she figured it was either part of the public address system, or an external communications board. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be labeled save for a computer style keyboard set into it.

"ONE MINUTE, THIRTY SECONDS TO SELF DESTRUCT. ALL PERSONELL EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."

Ron grabbed her arm. "There's no time. KP, it's going to take us at least that long to find a way out of here!"

Kim shook him off and shot a glare at him. "Look, try to find something else in here that works!"

He looked at her for a few seconds, considering what may happen if he grabbed her around the waist and carried her out. She was incredibly strong for her size, but she was still a rather petite woman. Even before he had begun his physical training or started growing again, he had been able to sling her over his shoulder and swing down from the upper framework of the Tri-City convention center, though she had been unconscious at the time. Kicking and screaming, he didn't know if he would be able to handle her.

She apparently wasn't thinking clearly. It tore at his gut that they might not be able to save everyone, but it was really simple math. Two people alive at the end was better than nobody alive, and he didn't want to be blown up or buried in rubble.

Two people? Hadn't he heard Rufus during the melee? He quickly cast about, looking for his little buddy. If anyone was responsible for the blackout, it was him. In the dim red light he couldn't see him, though what he did see almost made him sick.

Standing not ten feet away from them was what had to be Gemini's chihuahua, though he looked more like a cartoon bulldog with a little tiny head than the little toy-sized dog he had seen previously. His fangs protruded from his mouth, much like that squirrel/rat thing in that CGI movie from a few years ago. Old fear kicked in, ranging from over-sized squirrels with an attitude at Camp Wannaweep, to the mutant dachshunds Dementor had employed in the past.

What had happened was immediately apparent, even to his slightly slower working mind. The same thing that had almost happened to him had apparently already been tested on Pepe. The animal had gone from being an odd combination of annoying and cute to just plain ugly and disgusting.

The strangest thing was, instead of standing there growling, or yapping as his breed was wont to do, he was just wagging his tail, apparently smiling at the two of them.

"ONE MINUTE, TO SELF DESTRUCT. ALL PERSONELL EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."

He came to a decision. Even if they went back the way they had been brought in, it would take at least that long at a dead run. They were past the point of no return. It was either disable the device somehow or die trying. He scanned the other consoles, racing from one to another trying buttons and switches. Nothing seemed to be happening. The only board with any kind of power at all was the one Kim was trying to work.

Something else was tickling the back of his mind. Something seemed familiar. Of course, he had been held captive at WWEE's Atlantic headquarters for a time, but this place was built much more along the lines of Dementor's usual lairs, although he either hadn't had time to erect statues and busts of himself, or hadn't been allowed in his partnership with Gemini.

Lacking any means of controlling it, Ron set out to find the explosive devices themselves. Maybe if he could disable enough of them they would be protected from the main blast. They would likely still be trapped underground, but that was better than being dead.

The only problem was he didn't know what he was looking for. In all the times they had fled bases about to go up in smoke he had never seen the devices themselves. Certainly it wasn't as simple as a bundle of dynamite strapped to a support beam or something similar.

Kim had hit just about every button on the console. So far all she had managed to do was make a few lights on it change color. A clock was ticking away in her mind's eye, running quickly toward the end. The longer it took, the more she realized Ron had been right, but now it was too late to do anything besides what she was trying to do. She said a silent prayer, half in her familiar language, half in the little bit of Hebrew she had been learning at Ron's temple. Kim didn't plan it that way, but that's how it came out.

"THIRTY SECONDS TO SELF DESTRUCT. ALL PERSONELL EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."

Thirty seconds to live. Thirty seconds to find a way to shut the self destruct system off and save themselves and the dozen or so unconscious guards, as well as the pilot whose location remained unknown. Thirty seconds left with Ron, the man she loved with all her heart. Suddenly, with only perhaps ten seconds to go, she slumped down in the seat, apparently giving up. Closing her eyes, she waited for the inevitable to come. A pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders as the voice started the final countdown. She put her hands over Ron's, squeezing them tight.

"TEN…NINE…EIGHT…"

Wait! There was something familiar about that voice! Could it be?

"…SEVEN…SIX…FIVE…"

Kim started laughing, relief flooding through her and she had to catch herself from letting another kind of relief happen."

"…ONE…"

She felt Ron's arms tense up around her, his body engulfing hers as if there was some way he could shield her from the blast. It never came.

"CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE JUST BEEN BLOWN UP BY THE KIMSPLOSIVE THREE THOUSAND. HICK-A-BICK-A-BOO?"

"HOO-SHA!" Echoed another, very similar voice.

Kim twisted around slightly so she could see Ron's face. He cracked one eye open, looking from side to side. "Where's the boom?" He asked, as if he couldn't believe they were still alive.

"Ronnie, we're okay. It's the Tweebs! They're here!"

He opened both eyes, but otherwise didn't move a muscle. "What? How?"

"Don't know, don't care. Come on, new plan. Time to go after the bad guys."

He slowly unwrapped his arms from her shoulders, standing up straight. He looked a little wobbly, which was fine considering what he had just gone and what he expected to happen to them.

A small weight landed on his shoulders. Rufus was absolutely beaming, pointing at the altered pooch wagging his tail nearby.

"Way to go Rufus. Guess that mutant wiener dog call works on those mutant rat-dogs too."

"Uh huh." He squeaked.

Kim dropped down to the main floor, trying to figure out which way the two villains had gone. That was proving almost impossible, as there were half a dozen identical looking passages leading away from the main chamber.

One of the nearby operatives moaned. He was wearing the green uniform now favored by the WWEE agents and there was a Greek letter Beta on his lapels. Kim turned him over and grabbed him by those lapels. "Which way would Gemini go to escape?"

"Don't know." He gasped, slowly coming to.

Another set of emergency lights came to life, along with several more consoles. Ron examined what he could, but still couldn't quite make heads or tails of the whole arrangement. "Which one is the jamming device?" He shouted toward them.

"It would have been disabled when the main power was cut. Same with communications."

Kim let him go and climbed back up to the console she had been attempting to operate. The only thing she could see was the set of red tell tales she made come to life earlier. She tried the same sequence of buttons again, with no effect. Whatever she had done before couldn't be undone unless somebody knew how the thing actually worked.

Ron spotted something, heading toward what looked just like any other computer bank in the control center. He dropped to one knee and picked something up off the floor, staring at the console. When the main emergency power had come online, it remained dark, while all around the rest at least had blinking red lights on them.

"Find something?" Kim approached, not in as big a hurry as they weren't about to be blown up.

"Here." He pushed a small silver item into her hands. It was his Kimmunicator, apparently dropped by Gemini as he fled.

Kim spotted the same thing about the dead computer console. She walked right up to it and started pushing and pulling on it. Right under the lip of the desk-like work top something clicked softly and the whole thing slid silently aside.

The passage beyond was completely dark, though from the dim red lights of the operations center she could tell it went gradually upwards, at least where they could see. Working the controls on the Kimmunicator, she made the main screen emit a steady, powerful beam of light. Using it like a flashlight, they crept up the tunnel.

It ended in a steel door, much like one would expect to find on a naval ship, only there was no great wheel in the middle of it. Again she started searching for a hidden lever. Ron came up beside her, watching what she was doing, though the beam was just slightly too concentrated to allow him to perform his own search.

As the effects of adrenaline and the monkey power faded, his bruised and battered body was starting to complain again. One ankle didn't completely want to support his weight, so he put and arm out and leaned on the outer edge of the door. Once more there was a soft clicking sound and the door swung inwards.

Kim turned to him and smiled. "Should have let you try first, you and your 'dumb skills.'"

Outside light spilled in as the door opened. They were still deep in the forest, but compared to the darkness they had been in, it took their eyes a moment to adjust. There was just enough of a gap in the trees for them to figure something had been hidden there, perhaps an escape pod much like the one they had used to flee WWEE's original headquarters.

"They're gone, again." Kim said disgustedly. She leaned her back against the doorway and hit the call button on the Kimmunicator, shutting off the light. Wade's stricken face immediately appeared.

"Kim! What's going on? We've been worried sick since we lost contact with the hoverjet!"

"Long story. See if you can track a small vehicle that might have left here in the last ten minutes. We're heading back inside to see if we can find the pilot."

"I'm on it. Kim, keep an eye out. I lost contact with your brothers too. They were supposed to be shadowing you in the new flyer."

"I think they just helped save us. Any word from GJ what all this was supposed to be about?"

"Nada. They clammed up the moment they lost contact. I'll let you know, Wade out."

* * *

By the time they got back into the main chamber, Tim and Jim were already in there. Jim was busy using zip ties they had salvaged from one of the guard's gear to bind the unconscious and semi-conscious personnel until more help could arrive. Tim was busy chattering away with somebody over his wrist Kimmunicator, though they couldn't tell if it was Wade or somebody at GJ.

"I could kill the two of you for doing that." Kim said before sweeping the two of them into a hug.

"It's all we could think of…" Jim started.

"When we hacked into their systems, the only thing that was working was the PA system." Tim finished.

"Yeah, worked great too. You should have seen all those guys running out of here, just like roaches when the lights get turned on."

Kim nodded. "We need to be careful. Some of these guys are pretty heavily armed."

"We noticed." Jim said, struggling free of his sister's arms. "Come on, we've got to get out of here before some of them notice the place didn't go up."

"Wade said you came in his flyer. I didn't think it was ready yet." Ron said as he surveyed a console that looked as if it were displaying a map.

"It's not the greatest." Jim explained

"But it's pretty fast. Just needs those new engines he's working on." Tim finished.

"KP, I think I've found where they might be keeping the pilot." Ron pointed to a spot on the map labeled 'infirmary.'

"We were trying to follow you, but that hoverjet was faster than we expected."

"When we fell behind, we missed it getting shot down."

"And when we lost communications, we realized they were being jammed."

"Good thing we had Wade's stealth systems running. They didn't even see us."

"Yeah. We circled back and spotted the wreckage."

"So we landed and started looking for you."

"Stupid patrols led us right into the place."

Ron clamped his hands to the sides of his head. "Gah, can't the two of you every speak at one time? You're giving me a headache."

"Sorry." They said in unison.

"Okay, let's just get the pilot and get out of here before the guys with the guns come back." Kim said, starting off toward the infirmary.

* * *

Sherry let herself down slowly on the narrow bed she had been using. She missed her large, soft bed at her cabin terribly, but at least it was better than possibly being captured by Global Justice, or any one of a dozen official entities that still wanted her. She was still thankful that Kimmie had seen fit to protect her from Doctor Director that day, though she couldn't quite fathom why.

That wouldn't have helped her if they had shown up on her doorstep after her former nemesis had left, however. She grabbed what she could and headed to one of her safe houses in Middleton. In the past she would have been loath to reveal its location, even to Drakken, but now he was in the same boat as she was, and in her current condition he was really the only thing protecting them if something were to happen.

Cold comfort that was. Without his gear, or the time to do anything with it, he wasn't really much more than an untrained civilian. About the only time she had ever seen him personally lift a finger during a fight was to start kicking Stoppable, or to get into a slap-fight with him as his schemes crumbled around them. On the other hand, his attitude about her had changed somewhat. Despite his lack of skill, he seemed almost like a pit bull any more. They would sit for hours sometimes in their hideout, just staring at each other. The looks he gave her when they knew they were alone were melancholy and almost tender.

Her mind was so clouded any more she didn't know what to think of it. Logically, she knew that her hormones were raging out of control as she got closer to giving birth. Her heart ached that she had not been able to see Kimmie's mother since right after she was freed from WWEE's clutches. Once Amethyst was born and she had her strength back, she was going to pay that bearded jackass a personal visit, and despite the fact the authorities were able to track her when she did so, she was going to be at full power. Gemini was going to eat one of her fists as it blazed with her green glow, and that was the least of what she was considering doing to him.

She hated being like she was. It was like she weighed three times what she normally did. It didn't help that she often didn't even feel like getting out of bed. The food they had on hand didn't help matters any either, but that was the best they could come up with since they didn't want to be spotted. Sometimes her mouth watered thinking there was a small grocery store only about half an hour's walk away, though with her being the size of an elephant, it might as well have been a hundred miles away.

Drakken was no help there himself. Without access to any makeup, he was just as blue as he ever was. His looks just called too much attention to him. It would be so simple if he had the same ability to shut off his power and appear normal, but his skin color wasn't actually tied to anything. Her skin was normal when it wasn't glowing with her power. His skin was just plain baby blue. It struck her as slightly odd that he actually was kind of cute that way. Made up to look normal he was just that, completely normal and average looking.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. Must be the hormones talking, she thought. Her idea of a good looking man was a tall, strong specimen of the male species, with pale blue eyes and soft brown hair. That's what Amethyst's late father had looked like. Oh well, no sense pining after the dead. He main focus in life was giving birth to his child and trying to put that life back together for her sake. Sherry had no idea how she would accomplish that, but somehow or another she would succeed.

Amethyst was not going to be raised as a villain. She would do anything in her power to make that so.

She leaned over as much as her swollen body would allow. For the past couple days she had been nauseous, though nothing had come up. There wasn't that much in her stomach anyhow. It amazed her she could be hungry and feel like throwing up at the same time.

Drakken started awake on his nearby cot, looking at her in the half-light of the abandoned warehouse they were living in. He looked like a little boy, lost in a world he could no longer control. He opened his mouth to say something but she shot him a glare that caused those words to die on his tongue.

"Something's wrong." She croaked quietly. Her arms wrapped around her midsection and she would have doubled over. He was with her instantly, kneeling in front of her, trying to take her hands.

"Shego, maybe you should have gone to the bathroom if you needed to go."

She glanced down, following his eyes. Her black jeans were indeed soaked. "I didn't…oh God no. Not now! Not yet! I'm not due for two more weeks."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Drakken...Drew, I think my water broke!" The look on her face was so anguished he almost broke down.

Instead, he put his arms under hers and hauled her to her feet. "Come on, we're getting you to a doctor."

Him saying that seemed sort of odd to her. "I thought that's what you were, Doctor Drakken." She smiled slightly, making her wonder if she had such a good hold on her sanity at that moment.

"Not that kind of doctor."

"No. They'll take me away. They'll take her from me."

"Shut up, Shego. Right now that's not important. Besides, I'm taking you to the one doctor I think we can trust, not that we have any choice. That's is, just walk with me. I'll help you. I promise you, nobody is ever going to take her away from you."

"Drew…I'm scared."

"Shego, I'm about to wet my pants as well, but it's going to be okay. Let's just get you to Dr. Possible."

He slowly led her away, not noticing the fly that left it's perch halfway up the wall, following them out to the shabby panel van they were using as a vehicle.

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	46. Part XLVI – She's Having a Baby

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLVI**

* * *

"I am certainly glad we are using the new internal scanning technology and not old fashioned x-rays, or I would start to be worried about whether Ron would even be able to father children."

Kim hid behind her hand, blushing mightily. "Mother…" she hoped using the rare, formal title would get her attention, or at least take it away from discussing any future procreation between the two of them.

"Now Kimmie, just think of the number of times the two of you have had to be examined after a mission. At any rate, Ron is just fine. He's going to be sore since some of those bruises go down into the muscle, but nothing is broken or even cracked. I don't know how he managed that, falling as far as you said he did, but I think all he needs is some good hands on care, if you know what I mean." Anne shut down the monitor and motioned for the technicians to pull Ron out of the scanning tube. "Okay, you know what's coming next."

"No, Mom. I'm perfectly fine. The only thing I got out of the whole ordeal was a foot going to sleep while crammed into that flyer on the way back."

Anne arched an eyebrow. Kim saying she was fine really didn't hold all that much water with her, considering her daughter could have both arms and both legs broken, be bleeding from several places while having all kinds of poison darts hanging all over her body and still say she was fine. Despite having a medical doctor for a mother, she hated being examined, even if it was something non-invasive like the molecular scanning tube. For an intelligent, educated young woman, she had this peculiar notion of what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her when it came to her health.

Kim held up both hands in front of her. "I am so not getting in that thing. The only lasting thing I got from this mission is a pair of sore shoulders, and In my not so humble opinion, the only person her who is qualified to do something about that is Ron. That, and the slight headache I'm having considering just how much Global Justice is keeping us in the dark."

Anne wasn't quite done. "Well, since you are so grown up now and I can't order you to be examined, I guess I'll just have to let the matter pass. Ron, on the other hand, is still in my care and maybe I did see some things that need my attention. Sure would be a shame to have to order his head shaved."

"MOM!" Kim shrieked, not knowing whether to take her seriously or not.

"Kim, at least let's go to an exam room and do this the old fashioned way. I'll do it myself, that way you don't have a stranger, or worse somebody you know here at the Medical Center doing it."

She followed her mother to one of the nearby rooms and slipped off her sweater and top. Her mother had a way of transforming into just a doctor in that particular situation and it didn't help that she didn't like being examined by any kind of doctor.

Anne didn't completely shift into doctor mode. She shot her daughter a little bit of a glare, but the newer black top had its own built in support and was designed to be worn without underwear. She made her shuck off the pants, thankful they didn't have the same feature and wrapped things up as quickly as possible.

"Well, for somebody who doesn't think she's hurt, you do have your own fair share of bruises, though a couple of them look a whole lot more like hickeys." She smiled warmly as Kim got dressed.

"Mom, we outgrew that a long time ago." Kim pulled her commando sweater back over her head, once again feeling whole.

"Oh, I'm sure you outgrew getting them where they would show."

Kim's hands came up again, this time curling into claws. With an effort she dropped them back down to her sides. "Are you satisfied? I'm okay. Ron's the one who fell and got into the real fight. For that matter, I really think we need to get out of here and see a vet. Rufus was in his pocket when we crashed.

Anne went back to the monitor and pulled up the scan of Ron. She zoomed in on the portion showing his leg. There, right beside it was a familiar image. "I don't know too much about mole rat physiology, but at least his bone structure is intact. Happy now."

"A little."

"So, how did your date go last night?"

"Date? We just ended up getting a late dinner after that other mission."

Anne shook her head, sitting down on the swivel stool at the work station. "I would think getting a hotel room would qualify as a date." She pantomimed taking a hat off. "Okay, no more doctor hat, just daughter to Mom. Is there anything you'd like to talk about."

Kim flushed slightly. "You know that's private."

"Oh, come on, Kimmie, I just want to dish with you. Besides, I really want to know how you got those hickeys."

"They're not hickeys!" She growled, frustrated. "Besides, we were tired and all we did was sleep. We didn't even do all that much making out. It was nice…not as nice as Valentine's day last year, but nice." The previous year Ron surprised her with a trip to see a ballet in Go City, bracketed by two very nice cross-country train rides. Then on Valentine's day itself he gave her the first of three rings, an emerald promise ring she often wore on her left hand. Since they had been on a mission, she was only wearing the smaller, less expensive of the two engagement rings. The newer one, from when he formally proposed in front of the family was nice, but she considered the first one the real one. He tried proposing over dinner, but the power went off in the restaurant. Then, on their way to another, cheaper place he stopped and went to one knee in the park. He not so much as got the words out of his mouth as the sprinklers went off, soaking both of them, but the moment remained one of the most magical of her life.

"Well, maybe this weekend the two of you can have a better night out. If that danged thing of yours can keep from going off that long. Maybe you need to have Wade install another button on it, a sort of electronic 'do not disturb' sign.

Kim smiled weakly at her mother, not wanting to mention it already had that sort of functionality. Not that it mattered, when there was a big enough emergency, she would be beeped anyway.

Unconsciously, her hand slipped down to the silver device clipped to her waist. Her own was presumed destroyed, since Wade couldn't make contact with it. Basically, from that point he wrote it off and transferred the cached data he had to a new one that would be waiting for her to pick up after they left the hospital. He did promise to build her another handheld, but the newly improved wrist unit would go a long way to replacing them all together. He was even working on one that looked more like a decorative bracelet with a small holographic emitter instead of the old flat screen. That one she was looking forward to. The current wrist design looked like a shrunken hand-held and was a little bulky for her tastes. Wade said it beat strapping the big one to her wrist, though for some reason she thought his exact words had been "beats strapping a monkey to your wrist." That didn't make a lick of sense, but she couldn't quite get the phrase out of her mind.

Her hand went right back to her hip when she heard a cell-phone go off. It took her a couple seconds to realize it was a much more conventional ring-tone than the four note emergency beep or the musical tone it played when it was just a simple incoming call.

It turned out it was her Mom's cell going off. Holding up a finger, she turned, answering the call.

"Dr. Possible. Yes, dear, I'm at the Medical center…what?...you have got to be kidding me…where is she?...no, take her to the guest room for the moment…how close are the…I don't…okay, put her on. Miss Godfrey? Okay…calm down. Just do what my husband says for the moment…go in there and lie down and don't get up for any reason…just do the breathing we talked about, I'll be there inside of twenty minutes." She closed the phone and turned back toward her daughter.

"You are not going to believe this."

Kim's mouth was hanging open. She caught enough of the conversation to get a pretty good idea what was going on. "Let me guess, Shego…"

Anne nodded. "Drew Lipsky just showed up at our house with her. She's having her baby."

* * *

Doctor Drakken paced back and forth in the Possible's family room. Every so often he heard a scream from the downstairs bedroom. Every fiber of his being should have been screaming out that he was in the home of what was perhaps his most hated enemy, but all of that was shoved aside in favor of a woman he had come to think of as a friend and probably so much more.

The sound of her agony cut right into his soul. He wanted nothing more than to go to her side and tell her everything was going to be okay. Yet, for some strange reason he couldn't make himself do it. He had known her for over seven years and in that whole time he had never heard her sound like that. She was Shego, one of the toughest human beings he had ever known. Even on the rare occasions when she was sick she didn't get that way. There had even been times when she was hurt, sometimes seriously and all that did was put her in a worse mood than usual. The thought of her in pain, with nothing either one of them could do about it was just so sick and wrong.

What had possessed him to bring her here? Even though they were both wanted criminals, she belonged in a hospital. He watched her final descent into misery the last few months of her pregnancy and it tore his heart apart, yet, now that the moment had come, he was terrified. He might have had no medical training whatsoever and in reality his 'doctorate' was nothing more than a piece of paper he had printed out from an online diploma mill, but he was still a trained scientist and knew just enough to know there were plenty of things that could go wrong. He had never been around a woman giving birth and he had no idea whether her screams were normal or an indication of something far more serious.

Another wail echoed through the house, this time lasting longer than the rest. How could the same woman he knew make such sounds, and why did they effect him so deeply. He started toward the bedroom, then stopped cold, running his hand over his face and back up over his hair, stopping to play absently with his short ponytail for a moment.

He started walking again, as if his feet had a mind of their own, but instead of heading toward her as he knew he should, he found himself walking out the glass door, out onto the deck. He leaned over the rail, on the verge of actually getting sick. A voice inside his head was screaming at him, telling him to go to her, but he couldn't. Clamping both hands over his ears, as if to cut of the sound of her pain and the voices in his head as well, he walked down the steps into the yard. Even though he wasn't walking in a straight line, he found himself on the edge of the woods bordering the property. He sat down heavily, looking up just in time to see a maroon mini-van pull up into the driveway, disgorging two red haired women and a blonde man. It seemed so peculiar to him that he was actually happy to see Kim Possible arrive.

Now maybe everything would be okay.

He sat there, rocking back and forth, muttering to himself. "I'm not that kind of doctor," he kept repeating.

"Doctor Drakken?"

He looked up, his eyes meeting those of the young man he had always thought of as just 'the Buffoon." For the first time in his life he realized just how caring those eyes could actually be.

* * *

Another set of eyes was focused on the house, hidden in a different part of the woods. Those eyes dropped to a small scanner gripped in his hands. His eyes narrowed as the vehicle pulled up. That young woman had cost him so much, so many times. She had literally done more damage than his sister had ever managed, even with the backup of her international crime-fighting organization. No matter. Soon he would have the key to his future plans in his grasp, making Kim Possible, Global Justice and all the others who stood in his way irrelevant.

* * *

Anne gently patted Sherry's sweat soaked forehead. The contractions were coming only seconds apart by that time, though she had no clue how long the labor might take. The last time she had gone through that herself was almost nineteen years earlier, taking over seven hours with Kim. Because of her own small frame, Jim and Tim had been delivered by c-section, a procedure she considered nothing short of a blessed miracle considering what she had gone through with a single child. Still, she felt for the young woman in her guest room. She might have been a doctor, but for too long she had been a specialist. This was going to happen mostly by the seat of her pants and already she had taken her cell-phone out twice, intent on calling for an ambulance. This was a job for doctors with the proper experience, not a brain surgeon working in a bedroom.

The woman who at one time was called simply Shego pretty much knew what was on the older woman's mind. The second time the phone appeared she gripped her wrist, a bit more forcefully than she meant to and shook her head.

For a moment she considered calling anyway. What did she owe this woman? After all, she had pretty much been trying to kill her daughter for years, or at least it looked that way. She belonged in prison, even if that meant the child she was about to have would end up growing up with another family. How could that be so bad? Sherry was adopted herself. Her parents might have been taken from her when she was a pre-teen, but up to that point she had been in a loving home with her four brothers. What kind of life could she offer the child anyway?

Going against her gut, she decided not to anyway, at least as long as things didn't go horribly wrong. She had given her word and unless one or both of their lives were in danger, she would abide by that.

"James, boys." She addressed the men in the room. "Outside now."

"Should I boil some water?" her husband asked, trying to be helpful.

The thought of her kitchen-impaired husband trying to do even that would normally have made her laugh out loud. "No. That is an old wive's tale. Just go up to our room and get me the tan bag out of the bottom of the closet, then wait outside this door for me to call." With that, she shooed the collected male Possibles out the door, leaving just the three women in the room.

Sherry locked eyes with Kim for a moment, something passing between the two women. Neither was quite sure what it was, but they both nodded to each other as the doctor went to work. Anne hoped it was simply the two of them finally burying the hatchet for good.

Using her laser scalpel on its lowest setting, she cut the jeans away. It was safer than using scissors, since it would slice through the cotton without affecting her skin. Kim propped up her back with a pile of pillows as her mother maneuvered Sherry into position. Every so often she would call out figures on just how much she was dilated.

"I sure wish you had considered having a c-section, Miss Godfrey."

"Believe me, Doc, if I had know it was going to be like this, I would have. Gah!"

"Just breath, Shego." Kim said, holding the older woman's hand.

"Where's Drew?" She looked past Anne at the closed door.

"I didn't see him when we came in. Okay, you're fully dilated, Miss Godfrey. It's time to push."

"Gah! I never imagined this could hurt so much, and would the two of you please call me Sherry."

"Sorry, it slipped out." Kim said.

Sherry started to say something else, but it only came out as another scream. She gritted her teeth and pushed with all her might.

At first, Kim thought Sherry was gripping her harder, then she realized her skin was slowly turning from its normal pale peach color to light green. She was losing control of her power. The hand clamped onto hers was surrounded by a light green glow. Kim said a little prayer that it didn't fully ignite, but she didn't let go either. Not that Sherry was about to let her.

"I can see the top of the head. Come on…Sherry. Push again."

She growled through her clenched teeth, pushing with all her might, her brown eyes slowly changing to bright green, brighter even than Kim's.

* * *

Ron looked down at the blue man huddled on the ground. Except for his unusual coloring, he looked so different than he used to, though that might have had much more to do with him wearing a faded flannel shirt and shabby jeans instead of his customary dark blue lab coat.

"Dude, don't you think you should be in there with them?" Ron asked, squatting down beside the former mad scientist.

"What for? I'm not the father. I don't have any place in there."

"Come on, Dr. D. Any idiot can tell you at least think of her as a friend. Look at it this way, you might not be the daddy, but he's no longer around. She needs everything she can get."

Drakken shook his head. "What good can I do. I'm not that kind of doctor."

"There's a doctor in there right now, one of the best ones I know, but that's not what she needs at the moment. You remember what you said to her when we showed up with her brothers?"

He looked up at the younger man, again meeting his brown eyes. "I remember quite well, Stoppable. I remember she nearly blasted me too. I might think of us as an evil family, but I'm nothing to her. Less than nothing. I can't even be with her in her time of need."

"You got her here, didn't you? That's got to count for something." Ron stopped for a moment. "Hey, you remembered my name."

"I did? Oh, wonderful, la de da. I can remember your name but I can't make myself be beside the woman I love."

Ron's eyes shot open. "Dude, did you just say…?"

"I said nothing, buffoon. Not…a…word." He shot to his feet, glaring at Ron.

"Listen, I don't care if she thinks of you just as her boss, as a father figure or as a friend, you're just about all she's got. Go in there. Look at it this way, right now the only people at her side are folks she's supposed to hate. Is that any way to treat her at a time like this?"

"Well, I can't." He sat back down on the cold ground again, resting his chin on his tiny fists.

"Why not?"

"Well…because I'm evil. It's what I do. Yes, she's like family to me, but it's evil family. We don't do all that lovey-dovey cuddly stuff like you and Kim Possible do. Okay?"

"Dude, you are so whack. You might be blue, and you might have this insane notion about taking over the world, but you're still human. Nobody's that evil, and I don't think that's it at all."

Drakken looked up at him, then past him, focusing on something beyond the young man. "Uh, I think we might have more to worry about than who is holding Shego's hand at the moment."

Ron turned, following Drakken's gaze. "Oh no, not him again!"

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	47. Part XLVII – The Twin’s Last Stand

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLVII – The Twin's Last Stand**

* * *

Just a little bit longer, and it would be time to strike. Gemini clutched the small monitor in his hands, watching as the birthing progressed in what he assumed was the Possible home. Very soon the child would be in the world and he would take it from them. Shego, Sherry Godfrey, the woman he intended to make his right hand, the beautiful young woman he even considered wooing once she had produced the spawn his benefactor sought, would be in no condition to offer any real resistance. Nor would the two red-haired women attending her. He would strike swiftly, using the electrical discharge to stun the two women, then he would sweep in and be away with the newborn before anyone else could respond. Then he would have the child in his contacts hands before anyone could mount any kind of chase.

* * *

Kim glanced worriedly at her hand again. It was wreathed in what looked like green fire, though it did not burn. The only sensation she had was of Sherry's crushing grip. The slightly older woman was quite strong on her own, but it quickly became clear that once her powers were active, it made her stronger still. It was only due to Kim's own innate strength that she could withstand the pressure. Even still, there was a determination that she would not let go.

The last thing her mother had said, or at least that registered with her, was that the head was visible. That seemed like an eternity ago. Sherry tilted her head back, gritting her teeth so hard it seemed they would splinter. Perhaps that was the reason people in great pain were given something to bite down on, though with her powers boosted strength, it was likely she would actually bite through anything.

With a stray thought Kim wondered if the glow power gave all the siblings greater strength. It wasn't on the order of what her oldest brother could display, but it would make sense that if they all received their powers together there would be a tiny bit of spill-over. Were Mego and the Wegos slightly stronger than average? Some time she would have to ask them about that, though the self-absorbed purple hued shrinker had been extremely evasive about everything the last time they had spoken.

Not having anything better to do that whisper words of encouragement as her former nemesis tried catching her breath, she wondered what the rest of the men around were doing. Her father had appeared one time, bringing fresh towels and cloths, but there was no sign of Ron. Then too, where was Drakken? He was supposed to be her caretaker, wasn't he? She hadn't even seen him when they got there, though perhaps he wasn't comfortable hanging around in what was, after all, his greatest enemy's home.

Ron was on her mind as well. How was he going to handle it when she was in this position? That they would one day have kids was a foregone conclusion, though thing should be much simpler when it came time. Because of her small frame, her gynecologist had already suggested the safer course would be to plan on a c-section from the very get-go. Roll in, let them take the baby, zip her up and be done. Nice neat and safe.

Of course, she fully expected Ron to pass out sometime in the process. She was a little leery of the prospect herself. Several times she had scrubbed in and observed her mother's work at the hospital, even pitching in during a simulation. She did fine in practice, but when it came to the real thing, the sight of another human's exposed brain was a little too much for her. She barely made it to the lavatory in time. Was the same thing going to happen to her when they cut into her belly? At least Ron would be spared the embarrassment of getting sick. He'd be passed out cold the moment the surgeon displayed the scalpel.

Oh, he wasn't going to get off easy when the time came, though. He was going to be a good husband and be right there for her.

She smiled, despite the mild pain in her hand. Of course, they had to get married first, then they had to get pregnant a few years later. Then they could go though all those wonderful things like mood swings and seeing the doctor almost weekly, painting the nursery, picking out clothes, putting baby seats in the car. Picking names.

That part shouldn't be too bad. Not long after they started dating they did have a sort of meeting of the minds about that subject. It was pretty clear they wanted to name their first boy and first girl after their respective grandparents, though there was till the matter of who got 'first billing' in the matter. At eighteen years old, she found she didn't care, at least for the moment. That could change by the time they were twenty five or so, but there would be plenty of time to hash that out when they time came.

Sherry's hand tensed again and she was sure she could feel the bones crunching against each other. The green glow was brighter than before, traveling down both women's forearms. Black hair was matted against Sherry's scalp from perspiration. "Come on, Doc. What's taking so long? I…want…this…kid…outta…me."

Anne looked up at her and smiled softly. "These things take time Miss…Sherry. You probably don't want to know this right now, but I was in labor with Kimmie far longer than this."

"How's that possible? This's been going, what, two hours?"

Checking her watch, she smiled at her patient once more. "Sorry, it's been about forty minutes. I don't think you're going to even come close to the seven hours it took with Kimmie."

Sherry looked back at the young woman holding her hand. For the first time she noticed her powers were active and the fire winked out. She started to say something, but just stared at their locked hands. Green fire crackled to life again, then died. "You sure have something for torturing people, don't you, Princess?"

"Her name is Kim…Sherry." Anne's voice came out almost like a growl.

"It's okay, Mom. I don't mind so much. Sherry's got much more on her mind right now than what she's supposed to call me."

"Thanks, Punkin." She said between gasps.

Kim gave her hand a sharp squeeze. "Don't push it." She warned.

"On the contrary." Anne corrected, "It's quite the time to push some more."

"GAH! Where's Drakken?" She rasped before straining again.

"Didn't see him. Do you want him here?"

"I dunno. I always thought I was gonna be able to scream at somebody for making me like this."

"Shhhhh." Kim calmed her. "He'd probably say something stupid, like he wished he could share your pain or something, if he didn't pass out."

"Share the pain? You know that old joke, don't you?" She held up her free hand. "I gotta take a break or something."

"You can take a break when your daughter is born, Sherry."

"MAN! Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Would that be the one where a husband asks that and the wife tells him to stretch out his lips with his fingers as far as they can go?"

"Yeah, then…huff, huff…tells him to pull his lips back over his skull!"

"I've heard that one."

"Less talking, more pushing." Anne reminded her. "You're doing great, Sherry. Just a little more and the head will be out."

All three of them looked up as the house shook. Somewhere outside it was either thundering or an explosion had gone off. Being smack in the middle of February, the latter was far more likely.

Kim started to get up, but Sherry tightened her grip, pulling her back down. "You ain't going nowhere, Princess. Your boy is out there somewhere, and so is mine. Trust him, he can handle it. I need you here."

* * *

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Ron quipped as he dodged yet another fingertip missile. It exploded harmlessly on the grass, adding yet another pock-mark in the yard where the twins had been experimenting with rockets and other less-than-harmless projects over the years.

"I fully respect the value of perseverance, Ron Stoppable. When I have set my sights on a goal, I see to it that I achieve it. I expect that from my lackeys, and I expect that from myself."

Ron was frantically looking for something he could use as a weapon, but was coming up empty. He was cursing himself for not thinking of looking up just how many shots the crazed head of WWEE had in his prosthetic hand, even if they one he currently had matched the one that had been taken from him when he was arrested several years earlier.

"Hey, speaking of lackeys, where's short stuff? Did you already offer him a seat?"

Gemini growled, trying to draw a bead on the skinny blonde man harassing him. He knew all too well that he had a limited supply of ammunition, and needed to conserved the power for when he assaulted the birthing room. "That German is a coward. The moment we escaped the annihilation of our headquarters, he took what remained of his men and fled. Rest assured, the next time I have the pleasure of his jaundiced company I will do much more than give him a place to rest."

"You know something, Sheldon? You're either pretty smart, or pretty stupid."

"What are you prattling on about, youngster?"

"Oh, that you either just told me that you're working alone, or that Dementor is trying to sneak up on the house while I've got you busy."

"I…am…not…stupid!" He fired two of the missiles. One flew directly at Ron, the other breaking to the left, effectively flanking him.

Ron somersaulted backwards, barely escaping the first missile. The other almost got him, except he rolled the moment he hit the ground. Gemini pressed the attack. He had studied the fighting styles of his opponents and knew that Stoppable's forte was in dodging, rather than making a direct attack. With his little animal gone, there was no way he was going to be tricked like he had been before. He allowed himself a little grin, thinking of that little pink creature frozen somewhere above his abandoned lair, or lying in the wreckage of the hoverjet.

Then too he was aware that having lost his 'Rufus-factor' Stoppable could be much more dangerous. That point was hammered home when, instead of dodging his assault, he landed a good right hook on his bearded chin.

He shook the blow off. It would take much more than that to stop him. He was a trained fighter, having once worked his way up to the top of his organization by shear determination and more than a little ferocity. One only took the reigns of an international criminal enterprise by being the worst, most ruthless of them all. A little love-tap like that only served to make him angrier.

Gemini had the advantage of size, as well as being the equal or better of his opponent in speed. Barreling straight into him, he bore him to the ground, pinning him to the ground. He landed a good punch on Ron's face with his left, while his bionic hand sought his throat. That appendage was some ten times more powerful than his natural hand and if he was able to get it onto his windpipe, the fight would instantly be over.

Sensing the danger, Ron did the only thing he could think of. It was fighting dirty, but all's fair…

…he brought his knee up as hard as he could. To his shock and dismay, it was like driving his knee into concrete.

"Young fool. I have studied how you and your supposed girlfriend defeated the faux Agent Alpha. Do you think I am so stupid that I would not wear appropriate body armor?"

"Do tell!" Ron kicked again, this time getting a foot between him and his attacker. Gemini may have been significantly heavier, but almost two years of intensive training were paying off. He sent the larger man sprawling, giving him a chance to roll clear.

They circled each other, their eyes locked onto one another's, looking for an opening. Gemini knew his opponent was stronger and faster than he expected, and much more willing to fight directly than he had before. He was not the average boy he had captured several years earlier, who had meekly gone along, waiting to be rescued by Possible while sixteen trained Global Justice operatives and their leader were made fools of.

Other kinds of training were kicking in for Ron was well. He remembered that Gemini had fired his missiles at least a dozen times when they fought in this Atlantic headquarters before he disappeared behind his console, apparently to reload. Three missiles had now been expended and there had to be a limit to his ammunition. Still, he could not take the chance that he had extras somewhere on his person, or hidden nearby. There was also the chance that the man had been lying about Dementor, though it did sound just like the diminutive scientist to cut his losses and run once the going got rough.

Then too, where were his agents? Gemini was smart, perhaps he knew that he would prove to be a very worthy distraction while his men did the dirty work. He risked a glance at the house. The sun was already starting to set, stretching the shadows and making it harder to see.

For half a moment he considered what a long, interesting day it had been.

"Why are you even protecting this woman, Stoppable? After all, she is your enemy. Step aside and let me do what I must. I will leave you and Possible in peace."

"Not gonna happen. She needs our help and that's what Kim and I do, we help people. Besides, somebody I have a great deal of respect for once taught me that it's just as important to help an enemy when they need it, especially when they have done us no harm this day."

"Fool! Do you not know the power Shego holds? Do you not know what she is capable of?"

"Oh, I've got a pretty good idea."

Gemini charge again, feinting with his left while bringing his missiles to bear once more. Ron barely ducked as the tiny projectile flew over his shoulder.

"You missed!" He grinned, listening to the explosion behind him.

"Oh, did I?"

Ron heard the cracking sound too late. Moments later he was pinned under the weight of a shattered pine tree. He knew he wasn't badly hurt, though his already battered legs were pinned and he was certain he was bleeding.

That was the least of his worries. Gemini was standing right over him, pointing his bionic hand. Fins snapped out on the middle finger, ready to fire.

"More proof than ever that you are nothing more than a 'Non-Factor' than ever before. Goodbye, Ron Stoppable!"

* * *

"Come on, Sherry. Push!" Anne ordered. The sun was setting outside, yet the room remained well lit with the young woman's powers glowing as they were. Somehow Kim kept her grip, even tough her own hand was bathed in its light. She would have to deal with that later, not knowing what effect the power actually had on human flesh. Every so often her free hand would grip the sheets, which were shredding alarmingly.

"I…can't…take…this…much…longer!"

"I thought you were so tough." Kim chided, wiping the woman's forehead with her free hand.

"Just wait till I'm done here, Princess, and we'll see how tough I am!"

"That's enough of that." Ordered Anne, who was wishing she had somebody to wipe her own forehead. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to order all the men out, though she had no idea how her teenaged sons would handle childbirth. "Remember what you promised me, Miss Godfrey."

"What are you talking about, Mom?" Kim looked at her mother with lidded eyes.

"We'll discuss this later. Push!"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THIS HURTS?" Sherry screamed, pushing with all her remaining might.

Anne locked eyes with her for a moment, then looked over at Kim. "You're not getting any sympathy from me in that camp, my dear. I've got the stretch marks to prove it. We could have done this the easy way like I recommended."

"Okay, I take it back. I need something!"

"Too late now. We're doing this the old fashioned way. I don't have anything I can give you for it until we're done here. Now just shut up and push!"

Kim felt Sherry's arm start to shake. Her grip relaxed for half a moment, then clamped right back down. She was starting to lose feeling in her fingers, but at least the green fire wasn't affecting her for some reason.

Sherry screamed once more, not bothering to say anything that time, then she went completely limp, falling backwards onto the piled pillows. For what seemed like an eternity she didn't move, making Kim fear something was wrong.

That's when the crying started. She cracked open her eyes, looking down at the red-haired doctor. Anne was cleaning off the tiny, wailing body of the newborn infant. As a smile broke out on her face, the green fire slowly winked out and the color started fading from her skin. It wasn't apparent just how dark it had become in the room until then.

Carefully extracting her numbed fingers, Kim got up from the side of the bed and turned the overhead light on. Anne wrapped the infant in a blanket, careful of the still-attached umbilical cord and placed her on her mother's chest. With her skin returning to its natural hue, it became apparent just how flushed the new mother was.

Kim stuck her head out the door, giving her waiting father some instructions. Moments later, he appeared with a stack of fresh pillows. Shooing him right back out, she set to replacing the sweat soaked cushions as best she could, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

* * *

Ron was wondering if it were actually true that his life was supposed to flash before his eyes. It wasn't happening, or at least his attention was still rooted on the missile, and the fact that the big, gloating man was about to 'give him the finger.' That would have been so funny if it wasn't about to kill him.

Gemini was obviously enjoying having his foe at his mercy, savoring the moment. A wide grin spread between his carefully trimmed whiskers.

Then, suddenly, he started twitching. His body almost doubled over as if some invisible hand were ticking his sides. He started swatting at his body with his free hand as a bulge made its way down his sleeve, toward the hand that remained pointed in Ron's general direction.

His face scrunched up in pain as he gripped his arm. The fins snapped back into the missile and the hand itself suddenly dropped away from his sleeve. Before he could react further, something flew through the air, connecting with the large man's chin.

Rufus crawled out of the now-empty sleeve, having disconnected the hand from its mounts further up the man's arm. He scampered toward the detached hand, grabbing it and hauling it away as best his tiny frame could.

Gemini didn't have a chance to chase after his loose appendage. Another man, larger than Ron but still somewhat smaller than him pressed his attack. Ron had never seen Drakken quite like that before. He had seen him enraged, but that was almost always after one of his schemes had come undone at Kim's hands. This time his rage had focus, and he was taking it out on the man who had threatened a loved one.

What he saw actually scared him a little bit. His small fists kept flying, pounding the surprised man about the face and upper body. He wasn't Doctor Drakken, the mad scientist any longer, he was just a man, a man defending Shego and those who sought to protect her. There was a new, wilder look in his eyes as he hammered his opponent, not giving him a chance to even bring his one remaining hand up to defend himself.

Painfully, he finally wrenched his legs free from the branches of the tree. There was indeed some blood, but it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. The extended branches had kept the bulk of the tree's weight off of him, sparing him from being crushed under it.

By the time he got to his feet, Gemini was on the ground himself, with Drakken standing over him, panting. Both men were breathing hard, but it was clear who the victor was.

His lips curled up into a snarl and he drew back his hand to strike once more until Ron's hand came to rest on his forearm. "Drakken, it's over, you won."

He spun around, almost snarling at the younger man, but once again his eyes met with compassion, blunting his rage.

"You won." Ron repeated, hoping those words would get to him.

"I…won?" He backed up slightly.

A light went on in the guest room. They could see people moving around and they could clearly see a black-haired woman on the bed, tended to by two red-heads.

"Go to her." Ron commanded.

"What about this." He pointed a tiny finger at the semi-conscious man moaning on the ground.

"I'll deal with Sheldon. Uh, doc, you wouldn't happen to have a cell-phone, would you? Kim's still got my Kimmunicator."

Drakken looked at him in confusion for a moment, then reached into the pocket of his shabby trousers. He pressed the device Kim's mother had given Shego several months ago into his hand.

It took him a few moments, but Ron finally recalled the emergency number for Global Justice. It wouldn't take them long to get there, since there was a tube entrance right in front of Kim's house.

* * *

Sherry was lost in her daughter, who was cradled on her chest. So many years spent believing all her being was nothing more than the villainess she had been playing were washed away in that moment. She didn't even consider the fact she had just given birth in her enemy's home, or the fact she had sworn to give up that war just so this day could come. All that mattered to her in that moment was the tiny life she held in her arms for the first time.

Kim sat down beside her, marveling at precisely what she was witnessing. At least for the moment, that was Sherry Godfrey lying there, a new mother and not her one-time enemy. She pretty much figured that her mother had extracted some kind of promise from her, though, of course, she would never truly be able to completely trust her.

Anne busied herself putting away her instruments and cleaning up as best she could. The cord was cut and tied off and she still wanted to get both of them into a hospital, but that wasn't the time to try and convince the woman. All in all, it had been a good birth and she thought with just a touch of bitterness that Sherry really didn't experience the sheer joy of taking hour upon hour in delivery.

Kim pulled out Ron's Kimmunicator and called up Wade. There was still the matter of a proper birth certificate, and if anyone could get one filed without having to answer a lot of interesting questions, it would be him.

"Thought of a name yet?" Kim asked as her friend waited patiently on the screen.

"Amethyst Nell Argus. Yeah, she's gonna have her father's name." She added in response to Kim's questioning look. "Nell's as close as I can think of for Neil."

"That's really pretty. How did you come up with Amethyst?"

She reached down into her top, pulling a gold chain that had been hidden inside. Hanging from it was a ring, bearing a single purple stone. "This was Neil's. I kinda figured it would be appropriate to remember him by." She stared at the ring, lost in thought for a moment. Kim was sure she was remembering the big man who had once been her high school sweetheart.

"I just realized something." Sherry said softly, cooing at her daughter.

"What's that?" Kim asked.

"Remember her father?

Kim nodded. It was sad Neil Argus couldn't be there to see her. He had given his life to save both women, as well as the greater part of the east coast and likely the whole world.

"Today would have been his birthday. That means it's hers too."

"Wow…that's great."

"Yeah. Just wish she could have had a daddy." Sherry closed her eyes, gently cradling the tiny child. She already had a shock of very dark hair, making Kim think that perhaps that was what her mother had looked like when she was born.

Kim looked up as the door opened and realized there may be a possibility the child just might have someone to call 'Daddy' after all. She had never seen Drakken look quite like that. He only had eyes for the two dark-haired women in the room.

He quickly crossed over to the opposite side, laying an obviously bruised hand on her head. That reminded her of the explosions she heard outside. Rushing past the reunited evil duo, she made her way out, not taking time to climb down the steps but vaulting right over the deck rail, landing in a dead run.

There were at least a dozen GJ agents milling around. A trio of them were leading a heavily bound Gemini away. One of the men she recognized as a former FBI agent who had been working for the 'Special Unit' during their mission down in South Carolina.

She didn't care about that. The only thing she cared about was the man sitting on the ground nearby, having his leg looked at by a medic. He looked up as she approached, giving her his trademark goofy grin. Kneeling down beside him, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a huge kiss.

"It's a girl." She said softly, watching as the bandage was completed.

"Cool." He responded, a little breathlessly.

"You okay?"

He nodded. "Just a little cut, that's all. Hope this time they lock that creep away for good."

She buried her head on his shoulder. "Do they ever?"

He laughed slightly. "No. Guess that's why we're around."

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


	48. Part XLVIII – Epilogue

**_KP – One Oh One: _Part XLVIII – Epilogue **

* * *

Winter eased away from Middleton as the days grew gradually warmer. Just about the time the weathermen commented on the unusually light snowfall that year, Mother Nature decided to make up for it with spring rain. The gray, damp, dreary weather was enough to get even the brightest spirits down after a while. One odd effect, however, was the increase in traffic at the local coffee houses. Even those who didn't particularly like that Seattle style brew found themselves among the coffee klatch, sipping hot cocoa and hoping nobody noticed their drink was made from the coca plant and not Arabica beans. 

That very same coffee eschewing young man was in for a horrible surprise. Spring Break was something he always looked forward to. In high school it simply meant a week away from school, and the principals almost always favored the students during that time, forbidding any or the teachers from assigning anything over the break. That was a standing tradition at Middleton High School that even ultra-disciplinarians like Wilma Director wouldn't break with. Or course, back then Ron didn't have much money, and since they were minors throughout their high school careers, the only chance they had to get away was for the odd mission.

This year he was ready. There was money saved up in the bank. He was a legal adult and he even had driving privileges with Kim's car (which she was making a good faith effort in calling 'their' car.) Unfortunately, there was no such tradition protecting the students of Middleton College from 'evil' professors. In the week leading up to the holiday, Kim took Ron aside and pointed out that if they did indeed go away for the week, it would put him seriously behind. Reluctantly, he agreed. They originally planned to spend the last weekend of the break up at Mount Middleton, but the rainy weather pretty much put an end to the slopes and it was too nasty for mountain biking, so the lodge shut down for a while to do maintenance.

Ron leaned on one fist, half-heartedly stirring his cocoa. "You know, I really wanted to hit the beach this year. I just seems so unfair that we're spending our first college spring break at home."

"Welcome to the real world of adults." Kim took another swig of the third extra-large (or whatever these places called their sizes) plain black Columbian roast. "What's the deal, anyway? If you wanted to see hot girls in bathing suits Mom and I could dig out the bikinis we wore last summer."

Ron looked up at her without moving his head. "Uh, KP, that's half badical, half sick and wrong." He sat up quickly as anger flashed in her eyes. "I'm not saying you Mom doesn't look badical in a 'kini, it's just I don't want to think of her that way. Like ever."

The scowl didn't quickly fade from Kim's face. "So, you want to go to the beach to ogle girls you don't know?" She arched her back slightly to enhance her chest. "What's the matter? Not enough variety here for you?"

He shook his head. "I'm just going to shut up now, before I lose the right to even see those on occasion."

"Too late." She muttered, taking a sip to hide the smile that was springing to life. She could no more cut Ron off than stop breathing. Cutting him off meant cutting herself off, though she did like teasing him when he displayed interest in other women. Finally taking pity on him, she reached across the small table and hooked her pinky with his. "Hey, since we're not getting away tonight, want to crash at your place? I've been feeling really tense, and I could use one of your patented backrubs."

Putting his cup down, Ron stood behind her and started working on her shoulders. She tilted her head back until her eyes were even with his. She mouthed the words "I love you" and he responded by leaning over and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Ew, you taste like coffee." He made as if to wipe off his mouth. "You know, drinking that much, you're going to be paying for it later."

"The it's a good thing you have an attached bathroom."

"I meant all that caffeine. You're going to be buzzing for the next twenty four hours."

"Well, I sure don't want to sleep though your spankin back rubs. Mmmm, that does feel nice."

He sat back down, taking another swig of his drink, casting a look outside. "I wish it would either honestly rain or clear up. This misty-moisty crap is starting to get to me."

"We could always go back to the campus and hole up in one of the study halls. The one in the science building is nice and comfortable and it doesn't have all that many windows."

"Nah. It's bad enough the amount of work I had to do this week. I don't want to set foot there again until Monday."

Kim finished off her coffee and considered getting yet another one. "Don't forget we've got finals coming up in just over a month."

"You don't have to remind me. I haven't worked this hard since the last weeks of our junior year, when I almost didn't get promoted, and I still think I'm going to pull down just a gentleman's C in a couple courses."

"Just do your best, Honey." She frowned a little herself. She was making more Bs that term than she ever had before. Being a hot-shot straight A student in grade school still didn't prepare her for the level of work expected from them in college, and Freshman year was really only a transition. It was going to get tougher as they advanced too.

She wondered if they would be able to keep accepting missions. After many quiet months, things had gone back to the old ways, with the odd quickie jobs popping up here and there, as well as the more adventurous 'save the world' type missions. Most of their professors were willing to make adjustments so they could keep up, but there was only so much class time they could miss before putting a serious dent in their academic careers. They really wouldn't be much use to the world as college drop-outs.

The tension between them and the head of Global Justice had abated somewhat. Doctor Director called the two of them into a meeting a couple days after Amethyst was born with a deal. For the sake of the child, GJ was willing to look the other way, so long as the 'caretakers' of the newborn behaved. Drew Lipsky was not to go any kind of research or development on any kind of weapon, while Sherry Godfrey was not to use her powers. They could go back to their cabin and live in peace, so long as those conditions were met. Betty made it quite clear she wasn't personally happy with the arrangement, but if that got two of the more dangerous players off the field, then she would count that as a victory.

Kim wasn't all that convinced either. Sherry could be depended on because of her daughter, but Kim certainly didn't trust Lipsky. There was only so long the two of them could exist under what was really a sort of 'house arrest' and there was the added stress of being the ones responsible for the two. It also concerned her that, in their home, they still called each other Shego and Doctor Drakken, though she held out a hope that had taken on the aspect of pet names.

With the law off their backs, Sherry was finally convinced by Kim's mother to go in for a real physical. Both her and her child turned out to be in perfect health, but the peace of mind they got from the trip was certainly worth it. The new mother ended up spending almost a week in her house while Drew went back to their cabin and put it back in order. Interestingly enough, he transformed one of the rooms into a nursery that was a riot of violet and purple.

The freakiest thing that came out of the whole ordeal was that Sherry asked the two of them to be god-parents to Amethyst. It was strange thinking that, if something unfortunate were to happen, that she would end up caring for the daughter of Shego, but stranger things had been known to happen.

Kim started to head back to the counter, but Ron was up, cutting her off. "That's enough for you, KP."

"Yes, dear." She said in a slightly mocking voice. "Come on, Ron, one more cup."

"Nope, I know you all too well. Even now, I bet you're going to get up twice while I'm working on your back to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, point taken." She sat back down and nibbled on her biscotti. "So, what do you want to do this summer?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want to." She replied.

He rolled his eyes. "Are all Possible females like you, or just the ones who like me?"

"Just playing you, honey. I was thinking, just as quick as we're done with finals, we load up the car and hit the road again."

If his eyes could roll back in his head any further, he would have a good view of his own frontal lobe. "You really want to sit in a car for hours on end again?"

She gripped his hand. "I'll be with you, won't I?"

"Yeah, but I was hoping we could call in a favor somewhere and fly. That way we could spend more of our time together, you know, together, instead of one of us trying to drive and wondering if we're even going to find a nice place to sleep. I kinda got that wandering around like we're an ordinary average girl and boy last year."

"Well, I was thinking this year we could head west, spend a couple days getting to the coast, then the rest of our time we could spend sitting on a beach."

"Ehhhhh."

"Please, Wonnie?"

He knew better than to look, but he couldn't help himself. It was part of her power. The lower lip jutted out and her eyes seemingly doubled in size. She lowered her head between her shoulders and looked up at him.

She had to be careful. It was indeed her most potent weapon, but if it were used to often it would lose its potency. Fortunately, it was operating at full power and Ron was putty in her hands. So far he had only been able to resist the Puppy-Dog-Pout on a couple occasions, and that was only when he was already doing something special for her.

"Okay, you win, but if we're going to be on a beach, we're both going to bathe in sunscreen. I'm not gonna spend our whole vacation nursing a sunburn like we did down in Florida that year."

"Booyah. Now, since you're such a good boy, what should we do with the rest of our afternoon?"

He grinned across the table at her. "You know what we haven't done in a long, long time?"

She leaned on her fists, smiling softly at him. "Oh, what's that?"

"Logging Camp Road."

Kim sat up and raised an eyebrow at him. The road itself really went nowhere important, ending at a bluff that overlooked the city. Many decades after the last tree had been harvested from there, teenagers had congregated in a field where the pavement ended, participating in that time-honored activity know throughout the years as 'parking.' At one time, virtually all of their dates ended there, considering it was actually a safe spot for making out. Sure, there were plenty of couples who did much more than that there, adding to the dubious reputation of the spot, but it was part of their history and something they actually treasured.

"You do know it's a few hours until it gets dark, don't you?"

"Yeah, but in this weather I'm not even sure it matters, and I want to get a good spot. You know, the one with that stand of boulders. The place where I first told you I loved you?"

She leaned over further, meeting his lips over the middle of the table. "Okay, but dinner first."

"Do I even need to ask?"

"Actually, yeah. I'm tired of steak for the moment…"

Ron looked around. "Somebody alert the press, Kim Possible is tired of steak?"

"Yeah. Simmer down there, Naco boy. I just have a hankering for some seafood."

He wiped his hand across his forehead. "Whew. Though for the moment you were going to say fried chicken."

"What's that got to do with anything? Besides, you know how picky I am about that."

"Yeah, I just have this impression that's what you'll crave, you know, when you're…"

"Ron! You know as well as I do there's absolutely no way I could be…"

"Playin' you, KP. Seafood it is."

They got up, Ron automatically leaving a five on the table. There wasn't much service in that particular coffee shop, but he always insisted on leaving a tip, knowing all too well how little the servers made in the restaurant industry.

Out at the car, Kim made a point of getting in the passenger's side. It may have legally been her car, but she knew how much he liked to drive, and he sure needed the practice. Once they got in and shut the doors, she reached for him and gave him a good taste of things to come that night.

"Booyah." He said quietly as their lips parted.

"You think, maybe tonight, after we get back to your place?" She looked him right in the eye, knowing he knew exactly what she meant.

"Uh, you know what happens every time…"

He didn't even get to finish his own question.

_Beep-Beep-De-Beep!_

_

* * *

_

**Never The End**

* * *

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney 


End file.
